Hand of Sorrow
by Pojko
Summary: Sequel to Karma Chameleon. The games are renewed when Camille Leon and Senor Senior Sr. return to Middleton with a new plan and a new ally. Emotions run high when new elements are introduced which will once again test the limits of Team Possible.
1. A Midsummer Night's Dream

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything, hasn't it? Welcome to Hand of Sorrow, the sequel to my story Karma Chameleon. If you haven't read that story, that's okay. I know it's probably been a long time since anyone has read it, so I'll be briefly going over important plot points from it in this story when they come up. That way you'll get a nice little refresher and hopefully not be totally in the dark. Of course to those who haven't read Karma Chameleon, to get the full experience out of this story you probably should. I mean, it's not awful... is it? In any case, I hope you all enjoy this tale. It's been rattling around in my head for a very long time now.

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"_Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie__."_

_~Wizard's Fifth Rule_

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His head felt light. He didn't know if he was sick or if he had taken a blow to the head. But there was no one around him. It didn't make any sense.

Now his entire body felt as if it was made of air. No, he was just falling in midair. Had he jumped from a plane? Was he on a mission? He looked back and saw there was no parachute. This was bad. Very bad.

He saw Middleton High School below. He was supposed to be a senior. Now he would never get a chance to experience that or graduate. He was going to die.

The roof of the building opened up and allowed him safe passage to his desk. He slowed down as he fell into his seat. He recognized the room as Mr. Barkin's American history class from his junior year. The sight of his longtime teacher in his dark brown suit only confirmed his suspicions.

"Stoppable!" the man barked.

Ron did not say anything.

"Can you tell me…?" Barkin started to ask, his voice trailing off.

The words he was speaking didn't make sense. Whatever he was saying was unrecognizable as the usually loud and commanding voice of the teacher turned into soft, indistinct chatter. Mr. Barkin's lips detached from his face and continued moving as they floated away from his body.

Ron looked to his left to see Kim's face staring at him. Penetrating green eyes bore into his skull.

"Who are you?" she asked.

It was obvious that she had no trouble recognizing him. Her expression wasn't quizzical. It was hard as stone. Again he didn't answer.

In an instant Kim's face began to melt, revealing another familiar face underneath.

"What do you want?" Camille asked him.

Like Kim she wore a serious, almost grim look on her face. It has been months since he had seen her. She had already graduated earlier in the spring. Why was she back at Middleton High School?

His surroundings immediately changed to Kim's living room. Like the classroom, this place was instantly recognizable. Her house was his home away from home. He figured that in his lifetime he had spent as much time here as he had his own house.

Kim was sitting next to him on her couch. This time she wore a warm smile on her face.

"I know who you are," she said kindly. "You're my best friend. You're a hero. You're my sidekick in Team Possible. And you're a good guy."

Before he could say a word the scene shifted again. He was in another familiar place. Though he had only been in this room a handful of times in his whole life, he could never forget it. This was the place where he had lost his virginity. It was as the old book said, the best of times and the worst of times.

He was lying in a bed under the covers. He looked down and saw that he wasn't wearing a shirt. It didn't take much thought to realize he wasn't wearing anything else either.

To his left he saw Camille. Like him, she wasn't wearing a single item of clothing. Though her body was completely covered by the sheet, he knew what she looked like underneath. Despite being under the influence of the Attitudinator at the time he remembered every curve of her body. It was the kind of experience a guy just couldn't forget.

"I know what you want," she smirked flirtatiously. "You want me. You want all the fame, all the money and all the… pleasure that comes with being with me."

He saw the bright red hair of Kim out of the corner of his eye. Turning to his right he saw her standing beside the bed clad in her mission outfit. She still had a smile on her face as she looked down at him, seemingly unaware that her most hated foe was in bed right next to him.

"Don't you remember all the good times we had?" she asked.

The game of tug of war continued as his attention was brought back to the blonde beside him. Like with Kim, a smile still graced the lips of the heiress.

"Don't you remember all the good times we had?" she echoed.

Ron blinked hard as he continued to try to understand the situation. Things were moving too quickly. He heard Kim's voice again.

"Ron? Ron?"

Everything went black.

"Ron?"

A gasp escaped his mouth as his eyes burst open.

"Ron?"

He quickly looked to the source of the sound. Kim was kneeling next to him with her hand on his shoulder.

"It's about time," she smirked. "It took a few tries to wake you up. I suppose I should know by now that you're a heavy sleeper."

He continued blinking as his senses returned to him. Looking around he saw that he was in the belly of a cargo plane. The area was only dimly lit by old lights hanging overhead, but there was no mistaking the place. He had been in this situation dozens of times before. Memories rushed back to his mind as things began to look more and more familiar. He was on a mission. That's right. He and Kim were going to Europe. He had fallen asleep during the long flight.

His eyes closed tight as he let out a loud yawn. After a few seconds he felt good enough to stand. Kim got up from her knees and playfully slapped his arm.

"You know you shouldn't be sleeping this close to the drop zone. You need to be fully awake and aware when you're freefalling."

Ron ran his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes.

"I know I know," he said as he tried to stifle another yawn. "Sorry about that KP."

"No big. But we are going to be there in around ten minutes. So make sure your parachute is on and ready."

"Yeah. No problem."

The two teens walked over to where their gear was sitting. Each scooped up a large brown backpack and slipped it over their shoulders. They stood face to face as they secured each other's packs and ensured that they were on properly.

"You were out for a couple hours," she said as she tugged on one of the straps of his parachute. "Have any interesting dreams?"

No lies. That was their new commitment to one another. After they had nearly been struck with a tragedy of unprecedented proportions earlier in the year they had both agreed that they could not keep secrets from each other. To do so could result in another horrible incident. After all, important events often resulted from trivial causes. There could be no room for risk or chance.

"Actually I did," he said as he continued with the final checks of her harness.

"Oh? Do tell."

"I don't think you'll like it."

She gave him a small frown as her eyes focused on his own rather than on the harness he was wearing. "And why wouldn't I like it?"

He unconsciously tugged on the collar of his shirt as he tried to think of a good explanation. For Kim this meant that he was hiding something. Had he played poker this would be one of his "tells".

"Don't tell me…" she groaned.

"Yeah. I'm afraid so. Camille was in it."

Kim let out a disgusted scoff at the mention of the girl's name. She was the girl who had nearly ruined her life. She had nearly ruined a lot of people's lives. And it was because of her actions that Ron had nearly died.

"But it's okay!" Ron said hurriedly. "You were in it too!"

If he thought that this little addition would lessen Kim's worries then he was gravely mistaken.

"Gross."

"No no no! Not like that!" he continued. "Only Camille was like that! You were still wearing your clothes- oh my God why am I saying this out loud?"

He quickly covered his face in embarrassment after revealing the more private details of his dream. He had expected Kim to get even angrier. Instead he heard laughter. He peeked through the fingers that were covering his eyes and saw that Kim was in hysterics.

"Wow, you're such a typical guy," she said in between laughs.

Ron moved his hand from his face and nervously joined in the laughter. It only took a few more seconds before Kim's expression turned serious.

"Well hopefully you won't be too focused on your dream when we land. We have a mission after all."

He knew all too well. Their mission was in Milan.

Ron still remembered what Camille had told him on prom night back in early June. She had told him that she had plans to go to Milan and steal some of the latest fashion designs. At the time it had confused him to no end. He couldn't understand why she would tell him this. Of course he had asked her why. He had told her that Kim would come to stop her. And now after hearing that new fashion designs had been stolen she was indeed coming. There was just no getting around it. Even without their new honesty policy he would have told her. After all, he was a good guy. Dream-world Kim had even told him so.

_Who are you?_

The question echoed in his mind as he thought about the upcoming mission.

It was late August now. He had not seen Camille since he had taken her to the prom over two months ago. There hadn't even been a word about her other than what he and everyone else heard about her on the gossip TV shows.

But now it seemed that they were finally going to meet again. Before she left she had told him that she wanted to be caught by him. In the weeks after that he had wondered just what exactly she had meant by that. His mind interpreted it in many ways. Maybe he was just over-thinking it. Maybe it was a lot simpler than he was making it seem. One way or another he was going to get an answer tonight. The record of Team Possible was nearly unblemished when it came to catching criminals. He doubted that tonight would be any different.

His stomach growled. He wondered if she had indeed made reservations for that little Italian place she knew.

"Don't worry. A dream is just a dream. I know this is serious. My head is totally in the game."

"Good. Because I'm going to nail her hard. And I want you to be there watching when I expose her for all that she is."

"Um, Kim?" he said uneasily.

"What?"

"Ew."

She gave him a strange look as she tried to understand why he had just said that. "Ew what?"

He didn't say a word, instead simply raising his eyebrows as if to say "isn't it obvious?" It took a few more moments for her to understand.

"Oh… oh gross Ron!"

It was his turn to laugh at her embarrassment. But she quickly regrouped and didn't show any signs of being affected by it. That was who she was. Ice water ran through her veins when she was in mission mode. She only rarely let emotions compromise her while on a mission. And most of those instances had occurred in their battle against Camille Leon and The Supreme One.

Before either of them could say another word they heard the voice of the pilot from the speaker mounted on the inside of the fuselage.

"Ms. Possible, we are approaching the target zone in ninety seconds," the voice crackled.

She let out a deep breath as she bent down to pick up her helmet. Ron did the same and the two fastened the final pieces of their gear to themselves.

"I still can't believe she was stupid enough to actually tell you that she was going to do this," Kim said with a trace of humor in her voice.

"Yeah, but she still managed to pull it off even when she told us."

"Of course. It takes hours to fly from Middleton to Milan. But at least now we have a good place to start. First we go to the crime scene and get some clues. Then we find her with the stolen designs and have her arrested. This will be over in a couple hours."

"I hope so. I'm really hungry. I have a craving for Italian food."

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with us being in Italy," she smiled.

"Not at all," he said honestly.

"Anyway, I hope you don't have any reservations in arresting your former fake girlfriend. I know you said you wanted to save her and all that, but this should just prove that she's not trying to change."

He watched as she pulled open the large door on the side of the plane. Air whipped through the cabin making it difficult to hear anything else. He walked over to stand close to her so she could hear him.

"Don't worry. I've been doing this long enough to know how it works. She needs to be brought to justice for her crimes. I'm a good guy. She's a bad guy. Girl actually, but bad girl just doesn't sound nearly as threatening as bad guy. You know what I mean? Is that sexist?"

"I'd love to answer you but we gotta go."

Kim hurled herself out of the plane, followed a couple of seconds later by Ron. The two freefell for a while before finally pulling the cords of their parachutes. One spent the next few minutes in peaceful solitude. The other endured an agonizing descent as a flurry of emotions flooded their mind.

XXXXXXXXXX

After cutting themselves free of their parachutes the pair of teens began their trek towards their destination. They had been unable to land in the middle of the streets in Milan, so instead had opted to land in an open field several miles from the scene of the robbery. What would normally have been a long and boring walk to the target was made easy for Kim as she pushed forward with a fiery determination. Ron on the other hand didn't share her desire for justice and revenge, and his legs began to tire around a half hour into the walk. Normally walking would not have been the least bit difficult, but attempting to keep up with Kim's brisk pace was taking its toll on him.

"Kim," he whined. "Can't we take a cab or something? Or a gondola? Is Milan the one with gondolas?"

She didn't slow down a step as she responded to her friend. "Sorry Ron, but we don't have any Euros. We're not here to sightsee or eat out, since you mentioned wanting Italian food. By the way, wouldn't they just call it 'food' here?"

Déjà vu.

"Yeah, um, I guess," he said as prom night memories from back in June rushed into his mind.

As their journey continued Kim realized that they could have and should have been better prepared for this. In her haste she hadn't bothered to try and have Wade book them a real flight which would have brought them to an airport. She hadn't bothered to attempt to exchange any American dollars for Euros prior to arriving in a foreign country. But when she had heard that she would have a chance to finally bring that bleached blonde harpy to justice, she just didn't think of anything else. What had happened between her, Camille and Ron in spring was still fresh in her mind. And the personal magnitude of it still stung her.

"I never did get to tell you, I'm happy that there won't be any drama when we catch Camille red-handed," Kim said as she slowed down and turned to look at Ron.

"If," he corrected her.

"What do you mean 'if'?"

"Well you know about her tricks and everything. You know that she can shape shift and make herself look like pretty much anyone. What are you going to do if you have zero proof that she actually did rob this place?"

Kim scowled as she turned and looked down to the narrow paved road. Ron was right. Camille wasn't stupid enough to go in there wearing her real face and commit a robbery. She now knew not just the truth, but the truth behind truths. Not only could the heiress change her appearance at will, but she was not nearly as stupid as she portrayed herself to be on TV and in celebrity gossip magazines. What she and Ron were dealing with was not some rich airhead who liked to steal pretty and expensive things. Camille Leon was a manipulative, sociopathic and intelligent girl. Like she had told Ron when the two of them first met; she's rich. And being rich, she has had the best education money could buy. She wore a mask of ignorance and stupidity only to fool and manipulate her marks. It had already worked once to devastating effect. Underestimating her again was the last thing Kim would ever want to do.

She had underestimated the villainess once and it had nearly cost Ron his life. First Camille had manipulated Ron into believing that she had wanted to be his girlfriend. And like most men would, he fell for it hook, line and sinker. And then slowly but surely she had manipulated the facts and situations to her favor to make Kim look jealous and malicious towards Ron's new girlfriend. These events combined with the influence of some bizarre Shego from the future calling herself "The Supreme One" had resulted in Ron being turned evil by an Attitudinator, which had nearly cost him his life.

Never again would Kim let someone hurt and manipulate either her or Ron again.

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had forgotten that Ron had asked her a question.

"Kim?" he asked.

She looked back at him to see an inquisitive look on his face. A sheepish smile spread on her own. "Sorry Ron. I was just thinking about some things. You know how I get when it comes to this stuff."

A smile of his own replaced his previous expression.

"Mission stuff or Camille stuff?"

"Ugh," she grunted. "Both. Mostly Camille. Mostly about all the stuff she put us through a few months ago."

"Sounds to me like I'm not the one you should be worried about thinking about her too much. And that's saying something considering that I lost my-"

He cut himself off before he could finish his thought. It was an uncomfortable subject between the two of them to say the least. Normally it wouldn't have been awkward to discuss with other male friends like Felix. But with Kim being a girl and his best friend since pre-kindergarten, talking about his sex life wasn't the easiest thing for him to talk about with her. In fact he couldn't remember any instance of them doing so in the past few months. Not many opportunities came up to discuss losing his virginity to a super villainess while he was turned evil by the Attitudinator.

An uneasy silence settled over them.

"Yeah," she said uncomfortably. "No big."

Ron's stomach began growling as the silence lingered. Both were secretly thankful for this as it gave them something new to discuss. Kim let out a small laugh before she spoke.

"I see you weren't lying about being hungry."

"The Ron-man never lies about his hunger. What you see and hear is what you get. And right now I'm starving. And are you serious about us not having any money?"

"Well I do have money," she said as she pointed to her pocket. "I just mean that it's American money. I don't think any places in Milan will accept it."

"What about one of those places where they exchange currency?"

"A currency exchange?"

A bright smile appeared on his face. Kim didn't know whether it was because he had set up her response or because he genuinely didn't know that he had basically given himself his own answer.

"That's the one!"

"I don't even know where we would find one of those places here. And besides, we have a mission to do. We don't have time… to…"

Kim's voice trailed off as she looked up at the large building in front of them. Written in large bold letters on the outside were the words: _Banca Popolare di Milano_. She reached into her pocket to fetch the piece of paper that had the address of the site of the robbery. She then looked back at the building. This was the place. Still unsure if this was the correct location, she brought her Kimmunicator out as well and went to contact Wade.

The young tech genius's face appeared on the screen. As usual he was sipping a large cup of soda through a straw.

"Wade, where exactly are we supposed to be?" she asked.

"What do you mean? Are you at the bank?"

"The bank?"

"Yes. The Banca Popolare di Milano. That's where the robbery took place."

"I don't get it," Ron frowned. "Why exactly would fashion designs be in a bank?"

"A safe deposit box?"

Ron slapped his forehead and groaned. "Oh. Well I guess that makes perfect sense then."

Kim blew a few errant strands of hair out of her face and returned her attention to Wade. "Okay, let's start from the beginning. And this time don't leave out the details. What exactly went down at this place?"

"According to the security report, one of the bank guards let an unidentified individual into the back where the safe deposit boxes are located. There wasn't anything suspicious about it when it happened. But later some of the other security guards went back over the logs and noticed that the guard in question wasn't supposed to be working there that day. They also found out that the box didn't belong to the mystery robber. The real owner of the box is the famous fashion designer Coco Banana."

"Coco Banana?" Kim gasped.

"Who?" Ron wondered.

"The founder of Club Banana? The man who has designed the most amazing outfits ever? He's the reason I'm wearing what I am right now."

"Did he come up with 'pink poof'?"

"Pink poof is _so_ sophomore year. What's important is that if we can retrieve his designs that he might let us get a sneak peek of the next year's spring collection!"

Ron smirked as Kim had reverted to a basic, average teenage girl. While she may know sixteen styles of kung fu and save the world on a regular basis, inside she was still just another girl in high school. Things like fashion and boys were just as important to her as super villains and doomsday machines. Sometimes it was nice to be reminded of this.

"Okay okay, so it's important clothes stuff for an important clothes guy. And I thought I was the one who usually complained about not getting a reward."

Kim scoffed as she opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to find the words to counter Ron's accusation. "I'm not expecting a reward," she explained. "I just figure that maybe… well, maybe Mr. Banana will be so grateful to us that he'll show us what's coming out next spring before it hits the stores. You know, maybe I'll even get to buy some before Bonnie… oh my gosh I'm a horrible person aren't I?"

Ron laughed at the guilty expression on her face. Leave it to Kim to feel bad about wanting a little harmless reward for doing someone an enormous favor. It once again showed that it was difficult to balance her life as a teenage heroine and teenage girl.

"I don't think you're horrible at all. It's not bad to be rewarded for doing a good deed. Especially since we're taking time out of our busy lives to fly all the way to Italy just to get some stolen drawings of clothes."

Kim merely grunted in annoyance.

"Come on KP, I'm sure that he'll give you something once we get those designs back. And if he doesn't then I'll be the one to ask so you don't look like the bad guy. I have no shame in asking for rewards, remember?"

Kim bit her lower lip in embarrassment and looked down to the sidewalk. "Oh, you don't have to do that…" she said softly, obviously not meaning what she said.

"It's no big, Kim. I got this. I'll make sure that you can at least see the things if you can't buy any of them early."

In a flash he was enveloped in a tight hug from his best friend.

"Thanks Ron," she said happily. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for. And not just because of this. Because of, well, everything you are and do. I don't know what I would do without you."

He patted her on the back a few times before they separated.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Wade said suddenly. "But there still is the matter of finding out who stole the plans and where they took them. You need to do that before you can think about any rewards."

"I think we can safely assume who was able to pull off such a convincing disguise of one of the bank security guards."

Wade nodded on the screen. "Just try not to let your emotions get the better of you. I know that you might want to rush into this. But we need to take our time and come up with a good plan once we get all the details."

She knew he was right. She had already rushed things once coming to Italy. She couldn't let it happen again. "Right. We need to keep our heads in the game."

"Lead the way, Kim."

After slipping the Kimmunicator back in her pocket, Kim led Ron up to the front entrance of the bank and inside. Finding out where Camille took the designs was just the first step of the mission. Kim hoped that she would be doubly satisfied in the outcome of it.

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Once inside the bank it took a few minutes to find a representative who spoke fluent English. But soon enough they were led to the man's office where they sat in a couple of chairs opposite of his desk. He took a seat and folded his hands neatly on its dark wood surface.

"Ms. Possible, I have been informed that you are here concerning the robbery of one of our clients safe deposit boxes. Is this correct?"

"Yes sir. We have reason to believe that we know who is behind the theft."

The man looked surprised as he ran his hand through his thinning silver hair. "Do you really? May I ask who you believe the suspect is?"

Kim gave Ron a concerned glance instead of giving the man an answer. She had no idea how well known super villains were outside of America. For all she knew, names like Dr. Drakken and Professor Dementor could sound like comic book characters to this man. And it would definitely seem strange if she accused a world famous celebrity like Camille Leon of being the bank thief. After all, she actually did have a power that came straight from a comic book. Few people in their right mind would actually believe that she had the ability to shape shift. Telling this bank official her suspicions would only discredit her, and maybe even damage the investigation.

She decided to go with the safe route. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that information is classified," she said while hiding a frown.

She didn't like giving answers like that. She liked to know things, and she was certain that this man was the same way in a situation like this. Normally if there was information to share concerning a crime she was more than willing to give it. But here she had to think of the long term outcome.

"I see," he sighed. "I am very sorry to hear that. But tell me, if you are unable to disclose the details of your investigation, why are you here?"

"I was hoping to see the security log from when the robbery took place. I would like to see who the person was that went back to the safe deposit box."

While Kim did not know whether or not some of the super villains were famous enough to have worldwide renown, luckily she was. In many of the countries in the world the name Kim Possible was associated with Global Justice, despite it not being completely accurate. All they knew was that she was a trusted crime fighter who had saved lives and recovered precious items on many occasions.

"Very well. Let me just bring the footage up."

The man began typing at his keyboard. It was annoyingly slow to Kim. Maybe it was because she had so much invested in this mission, or maybe it was because she was so used to Wade's lightning quick fingers. All she knew was that it was taking an eternity for the man to find what she was looking for.

"Ah, here we go," he said as he turned the monitor so they could both see it.

The footage began playing. As it did so Kim whipped out her Kimmunicator and pressed a button before holding it so that the screen could see the monitor. As the time elapsed she was disappointed to see that she did not know who the woman was that was being led to the back room. But she knew in her gut that the security guard that was leading her was none other than Camille.

"May I ask what you're doing?" the man said.

"Oh, I'm just letting my tech specialist get a look at the video. He's going to scan the face and run it through a global database of known criminals. Then maybe we can get to the bottom of this."

The man smiled as the footage ended. "I sincerely hope so. Our client is an important man, and it would be a shame to lose his business here."

It took only a few seconds before Wade's face popped up on the screen. Kim was delighted at the speed in which he had found something. She expected nothing less from her young friend.

"Find anything useful, Wade?"

"I sure did. I've identified the woman in the security log to be a wanted criminal known as Espadrille."

"Just Espadrille?" she said as she raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Just Espadrille."

"What, are we supposed to know who she is just by her first name?" Ron asked. "It's not like we're talking about Brittina here."

"It's okay though," Wade reassured them. "She's associated with a crime group known as the Fashionistas. And get this, they're based right there in Milan."

"Well that makes sense. After all, it is the fashion capital of the world."

"Right. And I've got a pretty good idea of where they're hiding out too."

Kim was genuinely impressed when she heard that. While she may have expected a lot from Wade, she never imagined he could get things done this fast.

"You found out that quickly?"

"It was a piece of cake," he said as his face was replaced by a picture of an impressively large and beautiful building. "Global positioning places the entrance to the fashion underground somewhere in this building."

Kim's eyebrows again rose as she looked at the home of a group of underground fashion criminals. "As lairs go it's, uh, pretty…"

"Yeah, but don't let its exterior fool you. The place is probably covered with all kinds of high tech security measures and traps. It won't be easy to get in."

"It never is. Well except when the guys put in a big ventilation shaft that leads right into the middle of the lair. Then it's super easy… come to think of it, they do that more often than not."

"Right. But don't expect them to make those mistakes. These guys are pros."

"Well it's not like the bar has been set too high with our normal foes."

"Except a certain supreme foe."

Kim involuntarily shuddered when she was reminded of the villain who had nearly destroyed her life. A day hasn't passed yet where she didn't think of how lucky she was to still have her best friend by her side. The Supreme One had truly been her most dangerous foe yet. Even Camille had just been a pawn in her horrible scheme. It had taken every ounce of strength and will in her body, as well as several other people in order to defeat the villainess. There were still taunts and words that the future Shego had spoken that did not make sense to Kim. They probably never would.

"Right. I won't underestimate these guys. I'll never underestimate a foe again."

"Good to hear. I'm sending you the directions to the place right now."

"Thanks, Wade."

Kim dropped the device back into her pocket and stood up. "Well sir, we have a very solid lead now on the location of your suspects. I'm going to go over there and-"

"I don't know how you do things in America, but I will not allow you to go off chasing this known criminal who has stolen from our bank."

Kim was taken aback by the interruption. She looked at him curiously and waited for further explanation.

"I will be notifying the authorities at once, and they will go to this 'fashion underground' as your friend put it. They will arrest the person in question, along with her accomplices."

This was definitely a change in pace. Normally local and even national authorities did not get in her way. Most of the time the world seemed oblivious to the fact that super villains even existed. But not this time.

"Oh, um, okay…" she said hesitantly. "Yeah, I guess we could always use some help."

The man stood and adjusted his suit. "I'm afraid that this is an internal affair. We here at the bank will be taking care of this incident," he said as he moved to the door and opened it, gesturing for her and Ron to leave. "I am very thankful for all of your help, but from this point forward the police will be handling the investigation and recovery of our client's property."

Kim sputtered in protest as she and Ron were herded out of the man's office. The door was quickly shut behind them, leaving the two teens stunned by what had just taken place.

"Man, I liked it better in America where everyone was lazy except us…" Ron said.

The comment drew a soft giggle from Kim's lips as she shook her head. "Oh well. Looks like we'll just have to do this off the record then."

"You mean we're still going after those fashion people and Camille?"

"You got it. There's no way I'm letting this opportunity slip through my fingers. We're going to get them whether the Italian police want us there or not. We'll just have to be a little sneaky about it."

Kim and Ron left the bank and were soon on their way to their target in another part of the city. It was times like these that Ron wished they had packed their rocket skates. With no money they had to again walk to their destination. He hoped that he wouldn't be too worn out from the walk by the time they arrived. It didn't help to be tired when fighting super villains.

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Sprinting down the narrow streets of Milan had taken its toll on Ron sooner than he would have liked. While he wasn't out of shape by any means, it did not mean that he was in fact in a good athletic condition. He wasn't an athlete at school, having never participated in anything other than cheerleading with the exception of the one week he attempted to play all of the sports in the school in order to get popular with the ladies. In the end that effort had failed in spectacular proportions, and it also marked the end of his career in sports that didn't involve wearing a giant rubber dog mask.

Kim on the other hand lived for moments like this. Ron figured that she would never tire or slow down when she was in mission mode. Her prey on this particular mission only further motivated her to quickly reach their destination. He wished that he had spoken up about not becoming too tired to actually be effective in their upcoming mission. Arriving out of breath at the building where the Fashionistas were held up was not a good plan. But at the moment he was too far behind her and too out of breath to voice his objections.

He didn't know how long they had been running for. All he knew was that his legs felt like rubber and he was in danger of collapsing at any moment. It was times like this that he wished his confusing and frustratingly inconsistent Mystical Monkey Power would kick in. Having that kind of energy and stamina would have made this a breeze. He wondered why it kicked in when it did in the past.

Memories from three months ago flashed in his mind. It was not a time that he wanted to remember, but the thoughts and images were burned into his mind. He had once again been turned evil by the Attitudinator. He had turned his back on Kim and teamed up with Camille in order to do whatever they wanted. From petty and childish revenge to grand schemes of world domination, it seemed that nothing had been out of their reach. That was until the unpleasant side-effects of the device had begun to take their toll and drive him completely insane.

But for some reason when he had been in that state he was able to harness some of his abilities. He had been more than proficient enough in martial arts when he was under its influence. He had somehow gotten to the level where he was able to hold his own against a seasoned warrior like Shego. How or why that was the case, he could not say. But the fact that he knew this and could not figure out why frustrated him to no end.

Looking ahead, Ron saw that he was finally starting to catch up to Kim. The only reason for that was because she was standing still. He wasn't close enough yet to see what she was looking at, but it bothered him to see that she had stopped when she had been so focused on her goal. If she had stopped for his sake he reasoned that she would at least be looking in his direction. Instead her gaze was focused on what lay ahead of them. Ron thought that he could see faint flashes of blue ahead of her. In his experience flashing lights were never a good thing when on a mission. Usually they announced some kind of doomsday machine or warning.

After closing the distance between them, Ron stopped and rested a hand on Kim's shoulder as he panted and tried to catch his breath. He was looking down at the ground as he did so. Kim had not said a word or bothered to look away at the sight before her.

"Hey… Kim…" he panted. "What's… up…?"

With his hand on her, Ron felt her exhale deeply as she turned to face him.

"Wow, you're really out of shape," she commented.

Ron frowned at her choice of words. "I'm… not… out of… shape…" he argued. "I… I just… need… to work on… my running…"

A tiny smirk crossed her lips at his explanation before frowning again. She looked back to the building ahead of them.

Seconds silently passed by as Ron continued to catch his breath. By now he had been standing still long enough so that he no longer needed to gasp for oxygen every time he spoke.

"So what's going on?" he asked.

"Look for yourself," she said as she pointed toward the building that had been their target.

Several blue police cruisers were parked outside of what Wade had called the "fashion underground". Flashing blue lights atop the cars drew the attention of passersby as well as the two teen heroes. Kim saw a number of police officers standing near the cars and the gathering crowd as they did their best to keep onlookers from getting too close to scene. Her fists tightened in anger seeing her chance to stealthily infiltrate the building.

"What do they think they're doing!"

Ron's eyebrows were raised in surprise at the sight before him. "Their jobs?"

Kim scoffed at the answer. "Yeah I know but…"

"But what? They're the police. Isn't catching the bad guys what the police do?"

"Yeah. But this stuff doesn't normally happen. I mean, come on Ron. When's the last time the police actually got to a crime scene before we did?"

"It is pretty weird. I was joking before when I said that everyone was lazy in America except us. But wow, this kind of does support the argument, doesn't it?"

Kim didn't answer him. Her raptor-like gaze was focused on the people who were exiting the building. She had seen two of them before. Espadrille was in handcuffs along with the security guard who had been identified on the security footage back in the bank. Along with them was another man wearing sunglasses and a woman in a hoodie who Kim was unfamiliar with, but could only assume were part of the Fashionistas.

Kim unconsciously took a step forward. She was so close. There she was. There was Camille Leon. She hadn't altered her appearance from the security guard yet. For all anyone knew it was really him.

Ron noticed her take more steps forward. He quickly grabbed onto her forearm and stopped her. "Where are you going?"

"To expose Camille. I can't let her escape this time. Never again."

"But there are police all over. How are you going to do it?"

"I don't know yet. But I will."

She pulled her arm away from Ron and began walking straight for the collection of police cars. A number of the officers noticed her and didn't quite know how to react. While the name Kim Possible did have world-wide renown, how far she was allowed to interject in police matters was different on a case by case basis.

Kim approached two of the officers that stood in her way of going any further. "Excuse me, I'm Kim Possible. I was wondering if I could speak with the security guard you just arrested for a moment."

The two men glanced at each other with confused looks before looking back at Kim.

"You don't speak English, do you?" she frowned.

Upon hearing the word English the two men shook their heads. Kim sighed in frustration.

"Anyone here speak English?" she called out to no one in particular.

After several seconds of looking around, Kim saw another officer approaching her. She hoped to have better luck here.

"Excuse me miss, what do you think you're doing here?" the man asked in a heavy accent.

"I need to speak with the security guard you just arrested. It is extremely important that I'm allowed-"

"Out of the question. This is a police matter. I ask that you please step back to a safe distance. This is a crime scene and the building is still being searched."

"But I'm Kim Possible!" she protested. "You know, crime-fighting teen hero?"

"I know who you are, but this is an extremely important and dangerous operation. Please step back."

"Why are things so difficult in this country!"

Ron looked on with concern as he saw his best friend getting nowhere in her arguing. But knowing Kim, she wouldn't give up that easily. The fact that she was being denied access by the authorities was simply making her fight even harder for access to the people placed under arrest.

He let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against an old brick building. He couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but by the tone and volume Kim was speaking in he knew that she was upset. His attention on the argument was interrupted when he heard a sound from an alley behind him. Looking back he saw an empty can rolling out of the alley and slowly making its way toward him. His curiosity got the better of him and went to go look for the source.

Thinking that it could be a stray cat or another animal rummaging through the trash cans, his heart skipped a beat when a hand grabbed hold of his shirt and slammed him against a different wall the same brick building that he had just been resting against. Before he could focus on what was happening he felt a pair of lips press up against his own and take him in a lustful kiss. He didn't even need to look at the person in front of him to know who it was. Along with her perfume, he recognized the tongue and lips of the woman and how she used them, as next to Kim's when she had been under the influence of the Moodulator, these were the only lips he had ever had the pleasure of tasting.

When the kiss ended his heart again skipped when he saw exactly who the lips had belonged to. It was not at all what he had been expecting to see. A pair of green eyes sparkled on a face framed by fiery red hair. If he hadn't known it was a lie, Ron could have sworn that he was looking into the face of his best friend. However, he knew better than that.

"Hey bad boy. Miss me?"

"W-what?" he stammered.

The Kim lookalike giggled at what she assumed must have been not only his reaction to her show of affection, but also the appearance that she had decided to take. It took only moments for her to transform into her true form. A pair of icy blue eyes and bleached blonde hair replaced the looks of his best friend.

"So…what's up?" she casually asked.

Ron squinted in bewilderment as he looked back over his shoulder to the crime scene, but found that his vision of it was completely obscured by the building he was up against. He looked back at Camille with confusion still etched on his face.

"But how? You're supposed to be over there. You're supposed to be-"

"The security guard?"

"Yeah. But why-"

"Oh, he's real. One hundred percent genuine. It's amazing what people will do if you pay them enough money. Everyone has a price."

Ron frowned at her last statement. "Not me. You should know that firsthand."

Camille shrugged with indifference at the memory. She had offered herself to him as a bribe to make him turn his back on living the life of a hero and join with her. He had turned her down. It vexed her to this day that the only way she had been able to get him to be her partner in crime was while he was under the influence of the Attitudinator. But like she said, everyone has a price.

"We'll see about that."

"What are you doing? I thought you said that you were going to steal fashion plans. Why are they the ones doing it?"

She smiled innocently at his question. "What do you mean? I'm here as a tourist enjoying the historic and culture-filled city of Milan. I just happened to run into my ex-boyfriend Ron Stoppable and his bitch of a best friend Kim Possible while I was sightseeing."

Ron sighed and shook his head in dismay at her choice of words. "First of all, we both know that's not true. And second, please don't talk about Kim like that. I don't know why you hate her so much, but I'm not going to stand for you saying stuff like that."

Camille blew a few loose strands of hair from her face and looked away in disgust. "Whatever. I see that the mad dog is back on his leash. You know aside from your raging insanity, I liked it a lot better when you were evil."

"Yeah well I didn't. And before you ask, I'm not interested in becoming your evil partner or whatever it is that you're after. Got it?"

"Evil partner? Come on Ron, quit joking around. Just because I'm your ex doesn't mean you have to call me evil."

Ron wasn't interested in wordplay with her. He wondered if Kim was still arguing with the police officer. He then wondered if she wasn't and if she would turn the corner at any moment to see him standing so close to the girl that she hated so much. That situation would not end well for anyone involved in it.

He looked down when he felt and heard the growing rumbling in his stomach. Camille likewise glanced down at the sound's source before looking back up at his face.

"On a mission with an empty stomach? Well, we can fix that. I did wind up making a reservation at the place I told you about on prom night. Care to join me? I know how hungry my boy can get."

He shot her another frown. "I'm not 'your boy' anymore. None of our relationship was ever real. You yourself said as much."

"I also told you that I truly valued your friendship. I still do. You're a really nice guy. Neither of us wants this to end badly. It's all up to you how it goes down. So do you feel like joining me for dinner?"

Ron swallowed as saliva began building up inside his mouth at the thought of eating out at what he only assumed would be a fancy Italian restaurant. But this could not happen. He knew it. He had no idea what Camille was up to, but her being here in Milan and the theft of the fashion designs by the Fashionistas only proved that she was still up to no good. Despite how good a meal sounded, he would have to turn her down.

"I'm sorry, but no. I have plans with Kim."

The villainess again shrugged casually. "Your choice. But I still can't have my boy going hungry."

He made no comment this time as she reached into her purse and produced a few folded up Euros. She held them up to show him what they were before reaching down to stuff them into one of his pockets before pulling back.

"You and Possible go have a nice time then. My treat," she smirked.

"Look, I really don't know what you're up to. But you should know that I won't hold back when it comes to bringing you to justice if we catch you committing a crime. Kim is dedicated to it. And I won't stop her just because of our past."

Camille glared into his eyes for a few tense seconds before smiling. "Sure Ron, whatever. Anyway, this has been fun. But I really should get going now. You know, places to go, people to see, things to do. It's so fun being rich. You get to go anywhere and do anything you want. Too bad you won't come with me."

Ron remembered her saying the exact opposite to him back when they had first met. She had told him that he was lucky that he had lost his $99 million to Dr. Drakken. According to Camille he was better off without it all. When a person was rich nothing in their life was real. All they had was their money. But Ron decided against pointing out the contradiction in her two statements. He had long ago learned that everything she did and said had an ulterior motive behind it. He couldn't help but think that the same applied to this situation.

"No, what's too bad is that you won't come with me. You don't have to do this stuff. You don't have to be a criminal. I really do want to help you. But you're not giving me anything to work with. And I would hate it if the only way you do end up getting help is if you are in jail."

She laughed at the heart-felt words he had for her. "Come on, stop being so dramatic. This is all just a game, remember? Try to have some fun!" she said cheerfully before her face and tone turned dark. "And now for your fair warning. You and Kim should really stay out of this game from now on. You said you wouldn't hold back. Neither will I."

"What does that mean?" he asked warily.

Another smile instantly formed on her face. "Oh nothing. But really, I should get going now. But before I do…"

Camille gently cupped Ron's face with a hand and brought her lips close to his once more. This time the kiss she planted on him was soft and tender. When she pulled away she saw Ron's dazed expression and knew that no matter what he may have said, he still did feel something for her. Whether or not it was something she could exploit in the future she wasn't sure. But for now it had served her purpose.

She raised a hand and lightly waved her fingers. "Bye."

When she turned and began to walk away, Ron immediately moved to try to stop her, or at least run back and get Kim. But as soon as he attempted to move a step his left arm pulled him back to the building he had been against. Looking to the source of the problem, he saw that his wrist was bound in one half of a set of handcuffs. The other was around the rung of a metal ladder attached to the brick building that could be pulled down to access the fire escape structure that stretched all the way up to the top floor.

Ron used his free hand to try to pry the metal off his wrist but knew that it was a battle that would be impossible to win. He looked back down the alley to see Camille casually walking away. He then realized that it was no longer Camille he was looking at, but instead an older looking woman. For all intents and purposes she was now just another citizen of Milan.

"Camille!" he shouted after her.

The villainess did not react to his words and just continued walking.

Once she had exited the other end of the alley, Camille pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number that she had grown very used to calling in the past few months. At one point in her life it was a number that she never would have dared to call. But now the man on the other end of the conversation was one of the most important parts of her life.

She put the phone to her ear and after a couple of rings he answered.

"They're here," she told him. "You and that cyclops freak are good to go."


	2. The Coming of Shadows

Authors Note: It's nice to know some people remembered me after such a long absence. A big thank you goes out to everyone who read and reviewed. And thanks to Brandon for betaing and offering witty commentary, as always.

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"_And so it begins."_

_~Ambassador Kosh_

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Senior Senor Sr. flipped his cell phone closed and returned it to his pocket. A proud smile curled on his lips.

Everything was going according to plan. Team Possible was now in Italy just like Camille had told him they would be. While he had no reason to doubt his granddaughter and apprentice in evil, hearing the results for himself was always better than mere speculation.

Looking off to the side he saw his other partner and associates receiving one last briefing before their mission began. The top halves of their faces were covered with smooth skintight hoods and each wore colored goggles to shield their eyes from light and debris. Every man and woman among them looked almost identical in their indistinct purple and white body suits. The only way to identify who was who was by the different Greek letter each wore on the chests of their suits.

The man in question, Gemini, was sitting in a large chair as he addressed the gathered agents that stood at attention around him. He unlike the others wore no mask to hide his appearance. With his right eye he looked his people up and down as he spoke. His left eye was covered by an eye patch that Senior did not know the story behind. Again he had chosen not to ask. The details of such matters did not concern him. The only thing that mattered was the mission.

He watched as Gemini cradled a small, hairless Chihuahua in his hands. The dog was constantly shivering. Senior wondered if it was normal for the animal to act that way or if it was reacting every time Gemini pet it with his mechanical right hand. The dog was seemingly on constant alert and rapidly turned its head left and right as if searching for a reason to bark. Senior had heard its cries before. They were not pleasant to the ear and he hoped to not have to hear them again for the duration of the mission.

After a few seconds the gathered agents began to break up and all move into their designated positions. Senior took the opportunity to approach Gemini. Standing in front of the brown-haired man, Senior leaned on his cane with both hands as he spoke.

"Gemini, I have just received word from Camille. Everything is in place. Team Possible is currently in Milan. It will take them hours to return once they get news of the assault. They will be in no position to assist Global Justice."

As soon as Senior had uttered the last two words Gemini's Chihuahua stared at the old man and fell into a frenzied state of yipping. Gemini in turn put his hands over the dog's ears and attempted to calm it down.

"Shh, shh. It's okay Pepe," the man said soothingly. "Our friend here doesn't know how much you despise those two foul words."

Senior frowned as he saw the dog continue to shake. At least Gemini had succeeded in quieting it.

"Do you honestly mean to tell me that your dog reacts that way every time I say-"

"Do not say those two words again!" Gemini growled.

The fact that Pepe became so agitated by two harmless words and not the angry screams of his master perplexed the elderly villain. He did his best to ignore the curious qualities of his newest partner and continued speaking.

"As I was saying, everything is going according to our plan. The assault on the enemy facility will proceed on schedule."

"Good, very good," Gemini said as he softly ran his flesh hand over Pepe's head in an attempt to sooth him. "I am pleased that your associate came through for us. It is just as you said she would."

"I do not lie when it comes to matters of villainy," Senior said proudly. "Though lying is a very important quality for a villain to possess, to do so in matters of evil and scheming is poor super villain form."

Senior smiled inwardly as he thought about how far his granddaughter had come in the past two months. He was doing all of this for her benefit.

When they had met face to face for the first time, Camille had been out to destroy him and Junior for his involvement in her past. Or rather it had been the fact that he had not been involved at all. Camille Leon was the daughter of Senior's first born child, Gale, who had been born over two decades before Junior. Gale had grown up and married into the wealthy Leon family. She and her husband lived in the United States where they lived in luxury due to the Leon's ownership of a large and successful cat food company.

Senior's first wife had long ago left him, and he eventually remarried a woman far younger than himself and had his second child, Junior, with her. She also left him and succeeded in running away with millions of dollars which had been her goal all along.

What Senior had been left with was a baby boy to raise all by himself. Not long after that, Gale Leon gave birth to Camille. Senior however was too busy with the task of raising his son by himself to travel outside of his private island to see his daughter and granddaughter. Over the years growing resentment on the part of Gale and guilt on the part of Senior meant that contact between the two became increasingly scarce. That resentment had been passed down to Camille as she grew older.

Upon learning of his granddaughter's villainous motives and schemes, Senior had asked her to join him and become a part of his own evil plots. She had initially refused, but eventually found herself in a position where she had been willing to join him. He in turn promised to be there for her and be the loving grandparent that he should have been all along. He also told her that he would personally tutor her in the proper methods of villainy so that she could follow in his footsteps when he eventually did pass away. The lessons were still ongoing, but he was pleased with the way she soaked up his knowledge like a sponge.

Working with Gemini and his organization, the Worldwide Evil Empire, or WEE, was merely an exam in her lessons. Of course it was a very important exam, as the fate of countless lives hung in the balance with every success and failure on the part of both Global Justice and the Worldwide Evil Empire. But since her involvement concerned manipulation and deceit, both things she was already adept at, he expected nothing but success from his own flesh and blood.

Gemini flexed his steel hand and looked down at the tiny projectiles that formed the fingertips. "Yes yes, I'm aware of how you do everything by the book. However for this operation I don't plan on playing by anyone's rules but my own. Do you remember the details of the three objectives in this attack?"

Senior smiled and shook his head in disbelief. "My friend, this is more than just a mere hobby to me. I have dedicated my life to villainy for the past several years. While this plan of ours is a bit on the… odd side, rest assured that I will carry out my part in it to perfection. Glo-"

Senior stopped himself as Pepe's ears rose and he became alert. The hairless dog stared at him with worry-filled eyes.

"I mean, the enemy does not stand a chance in this operation. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is the performance of your own agents."

"Very well," Gemini said as he stood and looked over to where his men were waiting for the signal to engage. "Then we need not waste anymore time."

The purple-clad villain strode over to his assembled agents and checked his mechanical hand one last time. There was no room for error or malfunction. Everything had to go flawlessly. It wasn't every day that a hostile force mounted a direct assault on the Global Justice headquarters located below Middleton.

Senior couldn't help but smile as he went over every step of the plan in his mind one last time. He knew exactly where he was going and what he was required to do. He only hoped that the rest of the assembled men and women would do their parts. If this failed then he would be stuck in a prison cell with the rest of super villains that Global Justice had captured in the last several months.

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Ron watched with dismay as Camille, with her new appearance, vanished around the corner of the alley he was stuck in. He continued to pull at the handcuffs to try to break the chain, but all that succeeded in doing was hurting his wrist more as the metal dug into his soft flesh. He let out an angry breath as he leaned back against the wall of the building in defeat. He would just have to wait for someone to find him. He hoped that person would be Kim.

He shook his head in frustration. Not only with himself, but with the vixen who was responsible for him being in this position. He had let his guard down around what he knew to be a dangerous and manipulative young woman. But even with that knowledge, deep down he was still a teenage guy. And guys his age tended to do stupid things or forget important things when in the presence of an attractive female. They became even weaker when said female showed them the slightest bit of interest. The two kisses that Camille had planted on him certainly counted as that. But he now knew that the second one was merely another trick on her part, another act of manipulation. And it had worked to perfection, as he had been too distracted to notice that she had placed him in handcuffs until it was too late. He could only assume that the first kiss had also had some sort of goal in mind and that he had fallen for it as well.

Ron closed his eyes and resisted the urge to call out for help. For one thing he didn't know if anyone nearby would even understand what he was saying. He also didn't want strangers to wander into the alley to see him handcuffed to the back of a building. While he regularly lost his pants during missions with Kim, he did try to avoid humiliation whenever possible. With the strong police presence just around the corner he had no worries of being robbed due to his all but helpless position, but he still did not want to call any unwanted attention to himself or his situation.

In addition to these reasons he knew that even if Kim did arrive in the next few seconds that they still would not be able to pursue Camille. While Ron had seen the back of the person that the villainess had shape shifted into, he did not know her face. He had almost no way of telling the woman's appearance apart from any other woman in the city. And it wouldn't do to run around the city grabbing random people trying to find out if they were the one they sought. For all intents and purposes Camille had vanished into the rest of the population and would not be found anytime soon unless she wanted to be. There was no telling if she would even stay in Italy now. Ron had no idea what her plans were if not stealing the fashion designs that the Fashionistas were now taking the fall for. But he assumed that she was up to no good if she didn't want him following her.

He stood against the wall for a couple of minutes before he heard footsteps approaching him from around the corner that he had come. Ron turned his head and moved as far as he could to try to get a look at who was coming. He was relieved when he saw the familiar face of his best friend.

The look of anger on Kim's face vanished when she saw him trapped against the brick wall of the apartment structure. Her expression was replaced with one of shock and worry.

"Ron are you okay? What happened?"

A guilty look took over his features as he looked to the ground. "Um, I have bad news, Kim."

"What?"

"Camille was right here. She wasn't the security guard at all. Like, ever."

Kim instinctively looked back to the crime scene but being this far into the alley only saw brick. Ron stifled a laugh as he remembered doing the same thing in his conversation with Camille. The look of rage soon reappeared on Kim's face.

"What!" Kim growled. "Why didn't you come get me?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Well… she kind of took me by surprise."

"Took you by surprise? How? She's not even strong or any good at fighting. Even if you don't know sixteen styles of kung fu you should have been able to overpower her."

He looked away from her as he began his confession. "Um… she sort of kissed me. Twice."

"Yeah. You're totally a typical guy."

"I'm glad you noticed."

Kim let out an angry breath as she closed her eyes. "Anyway, did she say anything to you before she left? Where did she go?"

"She said a few things. Not really about anything important, just small talk really. She wanted to go out to eat with me. She also said that the guard was real and that he was bribed to do what he did. We just… I don't know. We talked about personal stuff I guess. Stuff from our past."

"Okay. But where did she go?"

"Out the other end of the alley," he said pointing down the narrow alley to another street. "She disguised herself as someone else before she left. I didn't get a look at her face. I'm sorry, Kim."

Kim reached into her pocket and retrieved a tube of lipstick. "It's okay, Ron. I guess I can understand how you were thrown off your game. And besides, seeing how we can't prove that she was involved with any of this, we wouldn't be able to detain her or anything."

"Yeah. But still, I feel stupid for falling for her… well, for her. After everything that happened between us I should have been more prepared for another mind game."

She offered him a consoling smile as she took the cap off of what he saw was her laser lipstick. "Really, don't worry about it. We all make mistakes. And sometimes there's nothing we can do but learn from them and try not to make them again in the future. Stretch out the handcuffs as far from the wall as you can."

Ron did as he was told as he watched her carefully aim the laser at the chain that connected him to the steel ladder rung. He felt the heat of the tool as a red beam set about cutting through the metal links. After a few seconds he pulled again and succeeded in ripping one half of the cuffs from the other.

Kim placed the cap back on and returned the device to her pocket. "I'll wait until we get home to get the other half off. I wouldn't want to risk slipping and cutting through your hand or heating the metal so much that it burns your wrist."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be very fun."

She smiled at him again as she placed her hands on her hips and looked to the ground. "Is there anything else she told you? Anything at all?"

While he remembered Camille referring to Kim as a "bitch", he didn't feel it was necessary to tell her that. It was hardly important and would do nothing but make Kim even angrier. He thought about the conversation for a few moments before something finally came to him.

"Wait, yes. I do remember something."

"Spill."

"She told me, or warned me rather, that you and me should 'stay out of this game'. She didn't say what the game was or anything. Just that we should stay out of it."

Kim nodded in understanding at the terminology that Ron, or rather Camille had used. To the heiress this was all literally just a game to her. Things like world domination and acquiring more money didn't matter. She was already wealthy. She was already famous. Camille simply liked to manipulate and use others for her own enjoyment. She was, as Kim had called her months ago, a sociopath. Other people's feelings and plights didn't matter to her. For Camille everyone was a pawn to be used and abused. They were puppets to dance to whatever twisted tune that she desired. The world was her stage.

"It looks like we should be prepared for anything then. If Camille plans on screwing around with us again there's no telling who she could pretend to be. But we also have to believe that she isn't in it alone. The last time she was just doing a job that she was getting paid to do by Dr. Drakken. So we can't rule out that it's him again or some other super villain."

Ron nodded in agreement. "You could be right about that. But I doubt it's Drakken again."

"Why's that?"

"Well when I was evil me and Camille sort of went to Drakken's place and… well, we caused him a lot of trouble. We kind of beat up some henchmen, hit Shego in the back of the head with a steel wrench and stole the Tiffany Yellow Diamond from him. And that was all before we took the part of the Tempus Simia statue that he had."

Kim's expression changed as she remembered the Tempus Simia. It had been the curse that started the entire chain of events that had caused so much pain and suffering for her and Ron. The Shego from the future who referred to herself as "The Supreme One" had been after it in order to use it to restore what she had called her rightful future. Everyone from Camille to Dr. Drakken to Ron had been pawns in her own little game.

In the end Kim had wanted to use it to travel back in time several months to prevent all of the damage from starting in the first place. She had wanted to fix everything. But before she had the chance the Tempus Simia had been knocked from the grasps of Ron and herself as they struggled for possession of it. It had shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor of the temple in central Africa.

While Ron had filled Kim in on the details of what he had done while under the influence of the Attitudinator, it still bothered her when she pictured them. An evil and very insane Ron had spilled blood in Drakken's lair. She remembered how the dried blood had looked on the bottom of his face when they met in the temple.

But the mention of the Tiffany Yellow Diamond had gotten her attention. She had pretty much forgotten about the theft of the precious gem since summer had come. But she now realized that it was still missing from the Museum of Upperton. It was still in the possession of Camille Leon. It was Camille who had stolen it for Dr. Drakken in the first place when she used her power to take on Kim's appearance and then steal it when the security cameras in the museum were disabled. It was an unjust stain on Kim's reputation. While people knew that she had not been the one to steal the diamond, it still stung to know that the only reason it had been stolen was that the museum staff had trusted her to look after it. She had to erase the perceived black mark on her record.

Kim sighed at the memories. "Well there's nothing we can do about any of this right here and now. For now we should probably go home. The fashion designs were recovered and we're no closer to exposing Camille. But I guess we can consider this a success since the actual thieves were caught…"

Ron smiled and pat her on the back a couple of times. "That's the spirit, Kim. Positive outcomes only! We came here to retrieve the designs and they were recovered. It doesn't matter that we weren't the ones who did it, but we were the ones who gave the bank and Italian police the lead they needed. So yeah, that is a victory even if we won't get credit for it."

Kim returned the smile and shook her head softly. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Ron. Positive outcomes only sounds like a good motto to me."

The two teens stepped out of the alley and began walking away from the crime scene. With the adrenaline of being in mission mode gone and the fatigue of running having worn off, Ron's body had returned to normal. And a normal body meant a hungry body for him. He felt the pang of hunger in the pit of his stomach.

"Hey Kim, do you think we can stop off for some food before we leave?"

"I'd really love to, but we have no money remember?"

Ron ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth as he considered how to say his next words. "What if I told you that I ran into some money while we were here?"

Kim eyed him suspiciously as they continued on the sidewalk. "What do you mean by that?"

"Um… I kinda got some money from Camille…"

She stopped and grabbed his arm to make him face her. "You what?"

Like he had done on the plane, Ron tugged at his shirt collar a little. "Well, when I turned down Camille's invitation for dinner, she gave me some money," he said as he reached into his pocket and produced several folded bills. "She said, um, that she didn't want me to go hungry and that you and me should get some food. She said it was her treat…"

"Her treat… yeah right. She either got the money from her rich parents or from some other felony that we aren't even aware of. Who knows, maybe she sold the diamond on the black market and made a fortune from it. In any case the money is probably tainted."

Ron didn't disagree with the idea of the money being dirty. But no matter how it was acquired, ethical or not, he had it. Whether it was dirty or not, it could still buy them food. And judging from the amount he had it could buy a lot of food. Or at least some food at a very expensive and classy restaurant. He was sure that that had been Camille's plan for him. Someone like her wouldn't settle for Bueno Nacho.

"Yeah well, even if it is, it could still buy us some food. I'm starving. And we could use it to get a taxi instead of walking wherever we're going."

"You realize how ferociously unethical it would be to actually spend this money, right?" she asked him with a frown on her lips.

"Yeah but, I mean, come on. We're in Italy. We should at least try to enjoy it a little while we're here. Mission accomplished and all that good stuff! I think that having a nice dinner to celebrate that would do us a lot of good."

Kim gave him a tiny growl. To him that spoke louder than words could have. It meant that she was actually considering it. She hadn't said no. Her reluctance to use words to acknowledge his argument just meant that she felt too guilty to admit that she might say yes to his idea.

He smiled as he saw her face deep in concentration. "So is that a yes?"

"Well, you are hungry. And it will take hours to get back to the States. I guess it wouldn't hurt to spend it here on some food," she decided. "Besides, we'll be helping the people here. We can tip the waiter. And spending money at a restaurant will help the economy. So yeah, let's go get something to eat."

Ron shook his head in amusement at Kim's logic. She had in her own mind just completely justified spending the money that only moments ago she had been morally opposed to spending. As long as she felt that she was doing a good thing and helping others Kim could do anything. Doing anything was her motto after all. While "positive outcomes only" sounded nice, it would not replace the motto that she had had for years.

"Any ideas of where we should go?"

"Not a clue. I guess we could try the first place we find. As long as it's food you'll be satisfied, right?"

"You know me too well," he smiled. "But honestly I would like something Italian. Spaghetti or lasagna or something like that would be cool. Then I could say that I had some genuine Italian food."

The teen heroes continued walking as they scanned the sides of the street for a good looking restaurant. Ron had been right about one thing at least, and that was that they did deserve to unwind a bit and celebrate a successful mission. The thieves had been caught. Everything was right again. At least things were right for this one particular mission. But overall there were still gray skies ahead. With Camille Leon up to something that neither of them could take a guess at, they needed to enjoy themselves while they still had the opportunity to do so. There was no telling what the future would bring.

And Kim didn't think that she wanted to know.

XXXXXXXXXX

The walls were made of solid stone, cut straight into the earth itself. There were no decorations, no colors, save the many computer screens that hung all around the facility and the light they projected. Bright lights hung from the ceiling, a necessity in the subterranean complex.

Several large, clear glass tubes stood in one side of the large room. Each was big enough to fit a fully grown man inside with room to spare. These tubes were the lifelines of the facility, the only ways inside and out. A soft whoosh followed by the sound of feet landing gracefully got the attention of several of the men and women in the room.

Global Justice Agent Will Du stepped out of the tube and looked around to find his superior. He ignored the glances of a number of the white-coated scientists who sat at desks and consoles working with their projects. After a few seconds he saw the woman he was looking for, Dr. Betty Director. The brown-haired woman watched with her one good eye and waited for him to stand in front of her.

Will snapped at attention and saluted her smartly.

"At ease, Agent Du," Dr. Director said.

Will relaxed slightly, the change visible through the tight fitting dark blue body suit that he wore.

"I want a brief summary of your mission before you go and write your official report," she continued.

Will nodded. "Yes, Dr. Director. Unfortunately I found nothing of any real value while on my mission. The Caribbean and Rocky Mountain lairs of Dr. Drakken look to be abandoned. The Caribbean lair looks to have been unused for some time now, maybe even a year or more. However the Rocky Mountain lair appears to have been in use only a couple of months ago."

Dr. Director frowned at the news. She had been hoping that with the newly acquired information sent from Kim Possible that they would have been able to capture two of the two most wanted super villains in the world.

Will noticed her frown. Despite his stoic exterior, he was feeling equally as disappointed on the inside.

"Dr. Director, may I speak informally for a moment?"

"Go ahead."

"I still say that we would need to be searching for them if Kim Possible had not interfered in the efforts of Team Impossible several months ago. Thanks to their efforts we now have Monkey Fist in custody, and we would have had both Dr. Drakken and Shego had Ms. Possible not been so adamant on returning to the United States as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Agent Du, I agree," Dr. Director said, which surprised Will. Normally she was one of the first people on board to defend Kim and her activities. "However you did leave the part out where she was in desperate need to save the life of her partner and best friend. When you add that to the situation her actions make sense."

"But surely one life is not worth the countless many that may be saved if-"

"We're not dealing with hypotheticals here, Agent Du," she cut him off. "I think you need to take a moment and remember why we do what we do. We are here to save lives and ensure that the citizens of the world may live lives of peace and prosperity. Ron Stoppable is among those people. Are you so obsessed with your mission performance and outcomes that you have lost sight of your own humanity?"

Will was taken aback by the question. Though he had never quite thought of it, it was something that got the gears in his analytical mind turning. Will Du lived in a world of cold hard facts. Everything was black and white, true or false. He was fluent in a number of languages and dialects because it was beneficial for being out in the field, not because he had any passion for travelling or culture. While in the field everything that he did was done to ensure the successful completion of his mission. He was able to weigh possibilities and outcomes in his mind and choose the logical course of action he needed to take in order to succeed. In some ways he agreed that his thought process was almost robotic.

While he was slightly amused by his conclusion, he did nothing to show it. "Maybe you are right, ma'am. But I would think that such a mindset is an eventuality for agents in our line of work. We deal with the horrors that madmen like Dr. Drakken unleash upon the world. Sometimes a numbers game is all that we have when faced with two impossible choices."

Dr. Director on the other hand chuckled lightly at her subordinate's response. It had been one that she wasn't at all surprised with.

"I suppose that is very true," she admitted. "However decisions like that aren't quite as easy when you know the 'numbers' on a personal level like we do with Kim and Ron. Especially after the time and money we spent putting in 'The Ron Factor' project."

"Are you saying that you still believe there is some value to the information we gathered in that long-dead project?" Will wondered.

"I trust you remember what else Kim told us when she informed us of the details of the location of Dr. Drakken's Rocky Mountain lair."

Will did remember the report. Apparently Ron Stoppable had been turned evil by an Attitudinator for a second time. Some of the details were slightly more unbelievable, such as a time travelling monkey artifact and a second Shego from the future. But he had little difficulty believing that an Attitudinator had been left in the hands of some villain out there after the recall that occurred following the debacle at the Super Villain's Convention Show the prior year.

"But ma'am, believing such a report tells us that Ron Stoppable may only be useful when he is evil. What could we possibly gain from this?"

"We don't know yet, or if there is anything at all. But all we do know is that the boy does have potential."

Both agents heard a man yell before they could continue their conversation. Dr. Director and Will turned to see the room filling with a thick white smoke. Both saw a number of what looked to be grenades that were still rolling out of the tubes that Will had exited from only a few minutes earlier. The scientists who had been working were now either running for another section of the complex or already collapsing to their hands and knees. In either case they were coughing and gasping for air.

"We're under attack!" Dr. Director shouted. "Sound the alarm!"

Will was already reduced to one year as he too was being choked by the noxious smoke. In only a matter of moments he was lying face down on the floor and not moving.

Dr. Director closed her eye to the stinging smoke and covered her mouth as she moved as best she could to where one of the alarm buttons was located on a wall. She maneuvered by memory alone, as even if she could see through the haze it would still burn her eye to the point where they would involuntarily close.

She slammed the large button down hard, earning her a sense of relief as the loud klaxons screamed throughout the facility. In only a matter of moments the oxygen filters that provided the underground base with clean, fresh air were working overtime to recycle the air and filter out the gas. The effects were not immediate though, and she felt herself slipping closer to unconsciousness with each passing second.

She risked opening her good eye to try to see exactly where she was in the room and hope that she wouldn't trip over anything. Much to her horror, she found a large man clad in purple and white standing in front of her.

The last thing she saw before her world went black was a small, crackling energy staff coming down on her forehead.

XXXXXXXXXX

Senior watched the blobs of bright color given human shape race out ahead of him to their designated targets. While he did not like the feeling of wearing the constricting mask, he was thankful that it allowed him to not only breathe in the gas-filled room, but to see with heat vision as well. Such things were essential until the air was recycled enough so that he could see what he was doing without such aid.

He slowly walked to where he saw the heat being given off from several large computers and their monitors. This was his task. It was easy compared to the work that other agents would need to do in only a matter of minutes before Global Justice forces could be rallied and drive them out.

It didn't take very long at all for the air to clear enough for him to see without any enhancements. Senior removed a small, portable hard drive from his pocket and inserted it into one of the mainframes. He stood still and let the program on the drive do its work. A massive amount of data from the Global Justice computer was being uploaded onto the device. He saw glimpses of words here and there, as most of the time the data was moving so quickly that he could not read a word before it was replaced by the next. Words and phrases such as "Terminus Decree", "Avarice Complex" and "Intersect Project" were some of the few that he had caught a glance of.

Moments later he turned to see that a number of new faces had entered the room. Being led out by WEE agents, Senior saw that Monkey Fist, Professor Dementor and a third unfamiliar man were making their way to the tubes that would grant them all their escape. Each man was wearing a mask that had been provided to them by one of the agents.

"Oh yeah! Max Brigand can almost taste the free air that awaits him!" he heard the unknown man say as he rushed for one of the tubes.

One by one the newly freed super villains flew up through the tubes and out of sight. Soon only Senior and a handful of other agents were still in the room. Two of them were holding off the Global Justice counter attack that was currently in progress. But thanks to the bottleneck that the doorway provided only a small number of WEE men were needed to halt the far superior numbers of enemies.

Senior removed the device full of newly stolen information when he saw that its task was complete. He turned to see a large man with a capital Greek letter Lambda emblazoned on his chest. The unconscious body of Dr. Director was slumped over one of his shoulders.

"It's time to leave," the man said.

Senior looked to see that the other two agents had thrown a couple more grenades through the door they had been defending just seconds earlier. Moments later a bright flash of light and loud bang threatened to overwhelm the elderly man's senses. If they did not leave now they never would.

Each man stepped into a tube and was soon sucked back to the surface. With them they carried two precious cargos. Senior smiled evilly at what had just been accomplished. With such a massive blow dealt to Global Justice and Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable stuck in Milan for the near future, he and his new business associate had time to reap the rewards of whatever knowledge was contained on the hard drive now in his possession.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron looked over the menu that was written entirely in Italian. He wished that it had pictures. He wished that there was some kind of kids menu he could look at. It wouldn't matter how childish it would make him look. It wasn't like he was ever going to see any of these people ever again. He was just hungry. And looking over the long list of food that he could barely understand a word of was even more frustrating on an empty stomach.

Kim was likewise having some difficulty. But unlike Ron, she did have somewhat of an edge. A year of taking French back in their sophomore year was doing a little bit to help her understanding of the Italian language. With both French and Italian being Romance Languages, she was able to at least have somewhat of a clue of what some of the words meant. But it was still not nearly enough to get by, not even enough to order food.

With a frustrated groan she closed the menu and buried her face in her hands. "Why did I agree to this again?" she asked nobody in particular.

Ron set his menu on the table as well as he looked at his frustrated friend. "It's okay, Kim. At least we found a waiter who speaks English. Maybe we can just tell him what we want and we won't even need the menus."

"I guess…" she sighed.

After another couple minutes of idle chat, the man in question came back to their table ready to take their order.

"Have we decided what we are ordering today?" the man asked.

"Yeah. We can't really read the menus, do you guys have, like, spaghetti?"

The man smiled gently at Ron. "We do not have 'like spaghetti' here, my young friend. We have the real thing. This is Italia! You cannot find a better plate of spaghetti anywhere else in the world."

"Oh. Right," he said, feeling just a little foolish of his question. Or at least the wording of it. "Well then I'll have the spaghetti."

The waiter scribbled the order down on a notepad before turning to Kim. "And for you, maiale?"

"I'll have the same."

"Wonderful!" the man exclaimed. "Would you two like anything to drink? We have a fine selection of wines to go along with the meal."

Kim and Ron shared a glance before the redhead spoke.

"Um, no thank you. We're both underage."

"Nonsense! Such things do not matter here. If you would like to have a drink with your dinner then you may! I promise I will not tell any of the American authorities of it," he added with a wink.

"No, that's okay," Kim said again.

"Very well. I will be back with your meals as soon as possible."

With that the man walked off leaving the two teens to themselves again.

"Huh. That's kind of cool I guess," Ron said. "I guess that they aren't as strict about things like that here in Europe. Must be a culture thing…" he surmised.

"Maybe," Kim said before the tell-tale sound of her Kimmunicator sounded. She took it out of her pocket and activated the screen. "Go, Wade."

The image of her tech guru appeared before her. "Kim, we've got trouble back here in America."

"What's up? Drakken again?"

"No actually. Someone we haven't seen in a really long time."

A moment of silence hung in the air as Kim thought about who it might be. "Adrena Lynn?" she guessed.

"No. It's-"

"Oh oh!" Ron interrupted. "Is it Falsetto Jones?"

"No. It's-"

"White Stripe?"

"No."

"Frugal Lucre?"

"No."

"Jackie Oates?"

"Ron!" Kim yelled.

"Ron?" Wade asked confusedly.

Ron quickly sealed his lips and looked over at Kim before speaking once more. "Sorry, KP. Guess I just got a little too into the guessing game."

Kim smiled before looking back down at Wade. "So who is it?"

"It's Gemini."

Kim and Ron shared a look before pondering the name for a moment. Ron was the first to speak.

"Oh yeah. I guess we really haven't seen him in a while. I think we've only ever faced him like once before."

"So what's the sitch?" Kim asked.

"We got a report from the Global Justice headquarters located below Middleton. Apparently there was a WEE raid there a few hours ago. The super villains that were being held captive there were all released and escaped with the WEE agents. But that's not the worst part."

"Oh you mean that Monkey Fist and who knows who else being back on the loose isn't the worst part?" Ron asked. "Then I can't wait to hear this."

"It isn't," Wade confirmed. His tone turned grim as he continued. "Dr. Director has been kidnapped."

The words hit the two teens like a harsh, chilling wind. Dr. Director wasn't some nobody that was normally the target of super villains because she had some vast technological or medical knowledge. She wasn't vastly wealthy or of any business or political importance. She was important because she was a spy. She was at the highest level of Global Justice, and thus any information that was able to be squeezed out of her would be of vital importance. And the very fact that somebody like her was able to be captured showed that the WEE was serious this time.

"Then we're going to get her back," Kim said confidently. "Have you found the location of WEE's base yet, Wade?"

"I'm still working on it. I figure that they have to have some kind of temporary local base in order to stay under the radar when they were that close to a major GJ base."

"Are there any timeshare lairs close by? Like the one that Drakken used that one time we did the whole mind swap thingy?"

"Might be. The owners of those things don't exactly put ads out in the newspaper. The people who rent those places want to keep a low profile."

"Right. Well keep us updated. We'll be heading back to America shortly."

"Will do."

With that, the screen went blank and Kim shoved the device back into one of her cargo pockets. She stood up and started to move before Ron began to protest.

"Whoa, Kim, where are you going?"

She looked back at him like he had just spoken Italian. "Um, you heard Wade. Dr. Director is missing? Potential world threatening information at risk here? We need to get back to the U.S. as soon as possible."

"Yeah but I mean, what's the rush? It's not like we're flying supersonic these days or anything. It will take us hours to get back. Hours on an empty stomach."

Kim felt bad that they would be leaving while he was still hungry. But something like this simply couldn't wait. She put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him as she spoke.

"Look, I know this is a pretty bad sitch for us. But duty calls. We can't sit here and eat while this stuff is going on. I know that normally when things get bad we discuss it at Bueno Nacho, but this just seems particularly bad. Like, we need to get going right now bad."

Ron looked down at the table dejectedly before slowly standing up. Just when he was about to leave he saw the waiter returning with a tray carrying two plates. He returned his attention to Kim when a question entered his mind.

"Look, Kim. I know you want to get back home right now. But how are you going to do it?"

"I…" Kim said before stopping. She hadn't really thought of the "how" yet. She had been so consumed by the need to get home that she hadn't even realized that she had no way home. She didn't even know where she planned to go when they left the restaurant.

"See? You haven't even come up with a plan yet. How about we take the time to, you know, come up with one before we rush into things." He eyed the plate of food that had just been placed before him on the table. "And we can eat while we do it. It will be just like old times. Or current times. You said it yourself that we usually eat while we plot. Is 'plot' too villainish of a word?"

Kim grunted softly in annoyance. She hated being called out on something when she appeared to be wrong. "Okay. We can stay here a little longer while I call Wade and get him to hook us up with a ride home. And that way we can eat too. Good plan?"

"The best," Ron beamed as he dug into his spaghetti.

Ron was nearly done with his food by the time Kim got off the Kimmunicator. She hadn't even touched hers while talking to Wade. She knew that he had been hungry, but had not expected him to be this ravenous. But as she looked down at her own meal she began to feel the pangs of hunger as well.

When they were finished they paid for their meal and stood up. Ron had a small smile playing on his lips as they left the restaurant.

"See, now aren't you glad Camille gave me money?" he asked. "Without it we wouldn't have been able to enjoy that."

Kim shook her head. "We still need to look at the bigger picture. She's obviously somehow involved in this. So therefore, no. I'm not happy she gave you money because that means it was all part of her plan."

"Involved? Involved how?'

"Don't you think it's just a little convenient that we were drawn all the way over here while some major WEE raid goes on back home? And who is responsible for us being here?"

"But she told me about Milan way back on prom night, remember? I don't think she planned it this far ahead."

"Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that I can smell a plot when it's right in front of me."

Ron wasn't about to correct her and point out that it took a couple of weeks before she was able to figure out that Camille had been working for Dr. Drakken when the two girls had first met. Now was not the time. He doubted there ever would be a time.

When a taxi stopped to pick them up they headed straight for the airport. Thanks to a little tinkering from Wade they were set up with two first class tickets back to the United States. Kim couldn't feel guilty about breaking the law here. This was a major situation that required them to get back home immediately. The airline losing a few hundred dollars was a necessary sacrifice. It was for the greater good.

The fact that she had just thought such a thing sent chills down her spine.

_You know, I wonder if this is how Shego got started out. Maybe one night she had to make a tough decision that clashed with her ethics. But she did it anyway for the greater good. How does that make you feel, Kim? _

The memory of Camille's words rushed to the forefront of her mind. Kim did her best to forget them.


	3. Chasing Wayland

Authors Note: As always, a huge thank you goes out to everyone who read and reviewed. I'm happy to see a few familiar faces from Karma Chameleon. Your feedback is truly appreciated, whether it's positive or negative. Every bit makes me strive to be a better writer. And thanks to Brandon for beta reading.

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

"_The adventure of knowledge is just as important as the knowledge of adventure."_

_~Delvin Lee_

XXXXXXXXXX

The trip down the tube seemed to lose its magic on this sullen occasion.

Normally Ron liked to "ride the tubes" as he had once put it. The experience was made doubly fun when he was not expecting the ground to open up and swallow him. But today there was not a whole lot of enjoyment in visiting Global Justice. The reality of the situation was grim for the teen heroes. Dr. Director, a respected acquaintance and fellow fighter of crime had been abducted by her evil twin brother, Gemini.

Kim and Ron landed neatly in their separate tubes and stepped out immediately afterward. The scene inside was one of hectic chaos. What would normally be an organized and calm room full of scientists and agents was now full of frantic men and women looking through papers and staring at computer screens trying to plot their next move.

Kim looked around trying to find some kind of authority figure among them all. Normally this would be easy. Normally she would look for Dr. Director. And it was hard to miss the tall, slender brunette who sported an eye patch. Other than her, Kim only knew of one other agent who worked in this particular location. She was not exactly enthusiastic about meeting him once again.

But as much as she did not want to do so, she couldn't help but try to spot the familiar, pompous face of agent Will Du. It wasn't that she had trouble meeting or socializing with new people, it was actually quite the opposite. However in this instance she simply did not want to bother the wrong person who might be working on a project of vital importance to the recovery of Dr. Director. She used this reasoning to help justify her search for the black-haired young man when a part of her screamed not to find an excuse to speak with him.

Ron sidled up next to Kim as she continued to scan the room. He leaned close to her to whisper in her ear. "Is it just me or do they seem kind of… amateur without Dr. Director?"

Kim couldn't suppress a small smile from curling on her lips as Ron used one of Will's favorite words. After being called an amateur so many times on their first meeting, Kim found it morbidly amusing that Ron would call Will Du that very word now. She felt a pang of guilt as she smiled. She knew that the only reason Ron could say such a thing was because Dr. Director was missing. Instead of replying to this comment though, she tried to stay on the matter at hand.

"Well, whether we like it or not we need to find Will. He might be the only person here who will give us even a minute to speak about this sitch."

Ron let out a soft grunt of agreement.

"Have you seen him since you got in?" she continued.

"Nope, sorry, KP."

"Well then, let's just keep looking. He's bound to be around here somewhere."

The two teens made their way through the large room, all the while looking around for the familiar face of Will Du. There were many older men and women in white lab coats sitting at desks and computer consoles, while almost none of them wore the standard dark blue jump suit with a red stripe across the chest. As they were about to go through a doorway to the next room, one of the latter put a hand on Kim's shoulder. She turned around to see an unfamiliar male face.

"Ms. Possible, what is your business here?" he asked.

"Hello. We're looking for agent Will Du. We need to get caught up on everything that went down here earlier."

"Agent Du is currently unavailable. And we are currently taking care of the situation, as you can see," he said as he motioned to the two dozen men and women working frantically around the room.

"Yeah, I can see how hard everyone's working. Ron and I just want to do our part. And we didn't want to disturb anyone, so we were looking for Agent Du. Do you know where he is?"

"He's currently in the medical bay recovering from the injuries he sustained in the WEE assault."

"Assault? No one said anything about an assault," Ron said.

"That's because Wade's the only one who's said anything up until now," Kim pointed out. She turned her attention back to the unnamed agent. "And I assume you're not about to take the time to fill us in on the details of what happened."

"Right. We're busy here. In fact I'm wasting time just standing here explaining all of this to you."

"Okay…" she said with a roll of her eyes. "So how about we save both of us some time and point us to the medical bay?"

The man thought about it for a moment before smiling. "Sure, Ms. Possible. I think we both know how much Agent Du loves to socialize. Especially with those outside of Global Justice. Maybe you can be the one to convince him to pay up for a bet that he lost. He simply won't admit that he was wrong."

Kim's face was blank for a moment before she caught the man's meaning. A smile of her own crept on her face at the prospect of annoying the young agent. She had had to put up with his arrogant and insulting remarks on a whole mission to Duff Killigan's island a couple of years ago. Now might be the time to exact some revenge.

"Sure. I'd be glad to help."

After getting the directions, Kim and Ron made their way through the tight corridors until they reached the medical bay. They stepped inside to see a handful of people resting in beds. Most were asleep. And with a mixture of both relief and disappointment, Kim saw that her target was wide awake.

They strolled over to his bedside. When Will saw them approaching him he visibly sighed. Kim knew that it was a sigh of annoyance. He didn't like speaking to "amateurs" as much as she liked being called one. But she had learned to put her feelings for the treatment aside for the good of the mission.

"Hey, Will. How's it going?" she asked.

Will sighed again. "How does it look like it's going? I'm being confined to a bed because of some superficial 'wounds'."

Kim was amused by his tone. She had asked that specific question because she had a good feeling it would set him off.

"Superficial? What happened to you?" Ron asked.

"The medic said that I inhaled a lot of the gas that the WEE used in their raid on this installation. I'm being held here for observation and to ensure that I do not develop any respiratory problems as a result of the gas."

"That doesn't sound too superficial, dude. People can get really sick from breathing in bad stuff like that."

"I feel fine. The hypothetical scenarios can be addressed if and when they appear. Right now my talents are being wasted in this bed."

"Right, your talents. But those talents aren't of much use if you're too messed up to use them, now are they?"

"Did you not hear what I just said? The hypothetical scenarios can be-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. We heard them, Will," Kim interrupted. "How about we get down to business?"

"I was not informed of you having any business here, Ms. Possible," he said as he sighed again and looked up at the ceiling. "I haven't been informed of much of anything since I've been put here."

"We're here because-"

"We're here because you owe some guy money over a bet that you lost!" Ron said before Kim could finish.

Will blinked several times as he looked at Ron. The room was silent for a few moments before he turned back to look at Kim.

"Okay, from now on I'm going to shun him and only pay attention to you," he said flatly.

"Story of my life…" Ron said under his breath.

"Anyway," Kim said as she gave a sidelong look at Ron before returning her attention to Will. "We're here to get details on what happened to Dr. Director. We want to help as much as possible."

"You want to help? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're always sticking your nose in places that it doesn't belong. It's a wonder that one of you hasn't been killed by now."

Kim frowned as she and Ron shared a look. They weren't sure if Will didn't know that Ron had nearly been killed almost three months ago, didn't realize that the comment hit a little too close to home, or simply didn't care. None of the options would be surprising coming from the young man.

"Well before you go off on some tangent about how we're amateurs and that we should stay out of your business, I should tell you that we're not going to take 'no' for an answer. We want answers and information."

"Very well. I would be happy to provide them."

"Wait, what?" Ron asked.

Sticking to what he said earlier, Will kept his focus on Kim as he spoke. "Several hours ago, WEE agents mounted a raid on this base. At the time it is unknown how they were able to gain access to the tube systems that allow access. But once they did, they threw several smoke and gas grenades down to neutralize the occupants of the main control room before they entered."

Kim had been wondering just how Will had been laid up in bed due to smoke inhalation. Now she had her answer. She silently waited for him to continue.

"Unfortunately I was knocked unconscious before the attack hit home. However I do know that they entered not long after tossing the grenades down. Security camera footage is obscured for much of the ensuing combat. What I have been told from others is that the raid only lasted a few minutes. Several WEE agents came in and freed the prisoners in our holding cells," he said before pausing. "There was also a factor that we had not expected to see."

"What's that?"

"Senor Senior Sr. was with them."

"Why would he be working with WEE?"

"We don't know that yet. Or at least I don't. Like I said, I've been cut off from much of the new information since I was brought here."

"I see. So what was he doing here?"

"From what the records of our mainframe tell us, he accessed a vast array of classified Global Justice data and downloaded it onto a portable drive. I don't think I need to emphasize just how disastrous that information could be in the wrong hands."

"What, you mean like that nuclear scientist guy whose research data was all available at the public library?" Ron asked sarcastically. "Information like that?"

Will continued ignoring Ron and spoke again to Kim. "And, as you know, they managed to capture Dr. Director. Without her knowledge and leadership this branch of Global Justice is at a severe disadvantage."

"Wait, there are other branches of GJ around the country?" Kim asked.

"Not the country. Around the world. _Global_ Justice," Will said with emphasis.

"Yeah, I guess that does make sense," Ron said. "By the way, how exactly does some independent organization gain police authority on a global scale?"

"Currently we have no leads on the whereabouts of Dr. Director," Will said to Kim. "Though this information may have changed," he said with another sigh. "I very much hate being out of the loop. All I can personally tell you is that if you find the WEE, you will find the means to locate Dr. Director."

"Right. And right now Senor Senior Sr. is our only lead to the WEE."

"Correct. And if my assumptions are correct and we are following standard protocol, we should have sent a task force to his private island as soon as we learned of his involvement in the attack."

Kim and Ron again shared a look. Apparently they knew important information that Will, and indeed the rest of Global Justice did not.

"They're not going to find anything there," she told him.

"What? Why not?"

"Because his island sort of got…"

"Blown up?" Ron finished.

"Yeah. Blown up is a good way to put it I guess."

"When did this happen? And how? And by who?" Will asked with confusion evident on his face.

"Spring, by Dr. Drakken and a big laser thingy," Ron answered.

"You mean to tell me that Senior's lair has been destroyed for months and you didn't bother to tell us? And by Dr. Drakken no less?"

"Kim! He acknowledged me! He knows I'm here!" Ron said with pride. "The only way he could have known that Dr. Drakken did it was by not shunning me. Game over, Du. I win. In your face!" he said triumphantly.

"Are you stupid? Of course I know you're here. The act of shunning you was merely to show my contempt for you and your childish, amateurish ways. And this display only further reinforces my actions."

Kim knew she had to end this before it escalated. "Now is not the good time for you two to argue about trivial stuff. Anyway, what's done is done, Will. And that means that your team won't find anything on Senior's island."

"And that means he has a new island somewhere," Ron added. "At least I would think he does. The dude doesn't seem like the kind to live amongst others. It would be bad business for his whole evil world domination thing."

"Good thinking, Ron. We'll get Wade to search for newly purchased private islands. Looks like we'll be taking another trip to see the Seniors soon."

"Déjà vu," Ron said softly.

"And you should probably tell your people this info too," she told Will. "I'm sure they'd listen to you a lot sooner than us. So you should page them as soon as possible. We'll get out of your hair. Thanks for everything."

"While I would not say that it's been my pleasure, it was as tolerable as I could ever imagine when it comes to dealing with you two."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment," she said amusedly.

"Coming from Mr. Roboto here I would too," Ron said.

As Kim and Ron turned to leave, they heard Will call after them.

"Wait," he said.

They turned back to look at him. He had as sincere of a look on his face as they could ever remember seeing.

"Please, do your best to ensure the safe return of Dr. Director. She is someone that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Kim said with a smile. "Of course I'll do my best. And anything is possible for a Possible. Right, Ron?"

"Right."

"So don't worry. We're on it. And from I can tell this is going to be personal for both of us."

Will looked at her quizzically. "Personal for you two? How so?"

Kim frowned for a split second before responding. "Oh, nothing. You know how it is for us. Every mission is personal."

"Right. An amateur mistake," Will said indifferently.

Kim emitted a soft growl. But she didn't take the bait. "Well, thank you for your time, Will. We'll see ourselves out."

The teen heroes left the medical bay without another word. As soon as they reached the hall Ron smiled as he spoke to Kim.

"Thanks for not telling him about Camille."

Kim let out a heavy breath before replying. "No problem. Honestly, I don't know why you're so set on trying to save her or whatever. And this latest sitch should just tell you that she either isn't capable or isn't willing to be saved. But since I did promise you that I wouldn't tell GJ until it was necessary, I'll hold off. For now."

"Hey, there's still no actual proof that she's involved in any of this. It could all be a coincidence that her Milan heist and this WEE thing happened at the same time. It's not like she'd ever work with Senor Senior Sr. either. She helped Drakken attack his island, remember? She hates him."

"That may be true. But I still feel that this is just too big to be a coincidence. It was a pretty huge coincidence that she just happened to show up a few months ago and then all these people were being framed. It took us weeks to put it all together and discover she's a shape shifter."

"I know. But still, we can't go jumping to conclusions. We need proof first. And right now we have none."

"And one way or another we're going to get some proof when we find Senior's new lair."

Kim and Ron made their way back to the tube system and were soon back up to the surface. The answers they had received had only opened up yet more questions. But at least now they had a lead. And with Global Justice on the wrong trail, Kim knew that they had an opening to get to Senior before them. All she had to do was get in touch with Wade. She didn't know how or when, but she was confident that the young genius would be able to find the knowledge that they sought.

XXXXXXXXXX

Senor Senior Sr. sat in the main control room of his brand new lair. It had taken a lot of money, but the private contractors that he had used were able to get the island facility built in a little more than two months. It never ceased to amaze the elderly man how much motivation one could get from a massive quantity of money. Luckily for him, he had plenty to spare. Few people could realistically imagine how much a billion dollars truly was, and just what could be purchased with it.

The state of the art lair was similar to the first. Like the old one, it sat on a small, private island that would not be relevant enough to be on all but the most detailed maps. Surrounding it was a twenty foot concrete wall topped with barbed wire to ward off all but the most determined, or foolhardy invaders. Senior had one in mind in particular when it came to that area.

Missile batteries capable of both anti air and ground fire were concealed within the compound that could be brought out with the push of a button. And thanks to the suggestion of Ron Stoppable, the compulsory underground grotto with a speed boat was fueled and prepared for a getaway should the need arise.

The additional weapons and tools of super villainy were of course included, and not one word of suspicion or concern was given from the contractors. Thanks to an ad on Evil Craigslist, Senior had been able to hire a group men and women who worked professionally for the super villain community. Hench Co. was always ready and willing to serve the most evil of people if it meant earning a profit for Jack Hench.

Sitting at a desk that still had that "new furniture smell" on it, Senior was looking through the data that he had stolen from Global Justice a couple of days earlier. Having made a copy for himself before handing it over to Gemini, he was curious as to just what the psychotic evil mastermind was after in the daring raid. Much to his disappointment, Senior found that there were thousands of files on the hard drive. Looking through them all would take ages. Trying to find something of true value was more trouble than it was worth. But that was perfectly fine for the billionaire. He did not need such information in order to come up with his own evil schemes. He had dedicated himself to villainy two years earlier. He knew the ins and outs of the trade.

In the background he heard his son flip another page of the magazine he was looking through. Over the past couple of months he had learned to view Junior in a new light. It was back in early June that he had learned more about the young man than he had in a very long time. Not only had Junior said that he wanted to give up the pursuit of villainy, but he had come home with an equally tan, muscular man with curly blonde locks. Junior had introduced the man as Midas, a masseuse hailing from Greece. It was soon after that Junior made the most difficult decision of his life, and told Senior that the man was his boyfriend.

While Senior had been absolutely shocked by the announcement, he was not angry, nor did he judge his son. All he wanted was for Junior to be happy. And if this lifestyle and the abandonment of villainy made him happy, then Senior would not stand in his way. At the moment the two young men were not together, as Junior was making final preparations to move out of the lair and begin forging his own destiny with his new companion.

One reason that Senior was alright with his son's departure from the hobby of super villainy was that he had another progeny to carry on his evil legacy. His prodigal granddaughter had found her way into his life, whether she had intended to or not. Camille Leon was not only a more capable super villain than Junior was, but she had a burning desire in her heart to be given praise and affection. And Senior knew that while on the outside she showed nothing but contempt for him, on the inside she beamed whenever she did something to make him proud of her.

Senior removed the portable hard drive from his computer and placed it down on the desk. He leaned on his cane as he stood up and began walking toward his son. Junior did not look up from whatever teen gossip magazine he was reading.

"So, my son. How goes the plans for you and Midas to move in together in America?"

Junior again did not look up when he responded. "Things are going very well, father. We have found a wonderful house in Hollywood. We hope that the proximity to the many famous people there will help aid in my rise to stardom."

"Ah. So you are still pursuing your dream of becoming a teen pop idol sensation?"

This on the other hand got the young man's full attention. Junior looked up to meet his father's eyes. "No, father. My ambitions have only gotten larger now that I have my mind fully on my career. I wish to become more than just a singing superstar. I wish to become an actor as well. I will become the most famous and idolized man in all of entertainment!"

Senior smiled at his son's enthusiasm. He had never once shown such interest and passion for villainy, no matter how much he had tried. It filled the elderly man's heart with joy to see his son so committed to his dream.

"I know that you will be a huge success, my son. And you will always have my full support, no matter what it may be. Whether it is moral support, financial, or… something perhaps a bit more devious, I will always be there to help make your dream a reality."

Junior looked at him curiously before speaking. "Father, are you implying that you would do something underhanded to help me in my rise to the top? Something like orchestrating the downfall of Britina so that I may take their place atop the world of pop music?"

"If that is what it took then I would not hold back. No self-respecting super villain would."

"Oh thank you, father!" Junior gushed. "I just know that with your help that I will become a star!"

The telltale "whoosh" of doors announced that someone new had entered the room. Senior turned to greet the new arrival, knowing that it could only be one person. The sight of long blonde hair confirmed what he already knew.

Camille Leon strutted into the room holding her purse along with several shopping bags. Her hairless feline, Debutante, was sticking her head out of the purse looking around the room in boredom. The young woman set her bags on the floor before turning her attention to the two men.

"I'm home," her singsong voice announced. "Miss me?"

Junior resumed his reading, uninterested in anything that she had to say. He still held a grudge for her part in Dr. Drakken's assault on Senior's old island lair.

Senior on the other hand walked toward his granddaughter, but was not as cheerful as she had expected him to be. "Camille, my dear. You were supposed to be back yesterday. You did not even call to inform me that you would be late. What happened?"

"Oh that," she said nonchalantly. "You see all these stores in Milan were having these totally awesome sales that I just couldn't pass up. I just had to get this new Gucci bag," she said as she held up the purse that contained Debutante. "Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

"I've seen cuter," Junior said under his breath.

Camille heard the quip and rolled her eyes rather than responding verbally. Instead she continued speaking to Senior. "So yeah, there was major shopping to be done. It's like, so hard to get all of these things delivered here at the lair. You don't exactly want to give out the address of your secret evil hideout to UPS. You know what I mean?"

Senior pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. "You mean you wasted a day you could have been doing homework on a shopping spree?"

"Wasted?" she asked as she reached into one of her bags and produced a box. "These shoes were not only on sale for ten percent off, but they're also in for the fall fashion season. I got them for $900 instead of $1,000. That's not a waste. That's a bargain. Not that it would matter that much anyway. I love being rich. And I haven't been able to spend money like this since I was disinherited by your daughter."

"My point stands. You should have been back here finishing up your homework."

"Are you talking about school homework, or evil homework? Not like they're all that different…"

"Both."

"Whatever," she huffed.

Not only was Senior taking time to tutor her in his way of villainy, the kind that he had learned from reading books on the subject, but she also had other things to study as well. Thanks to the efforts of Bonnie Rockwaller, it had come to the attention of Mr. Barkin that she had missed too many days of class in order to graduate on time with the rest of the senior class at Middleton High School.

Because of Camille's efforts to break up Team Possible, she had moved to Middleton and began attending school with Kim and Ron. During that time she had also used her abilities to take the form of another new student named Jill in order to gain Ron's trust and whisper ideas into his ear. Her plans had nearly succeeded in the death of Team Possible among other things. But in the end, she and every other villain who had taken part in the plot were defeated. And to add insult to injury, even once everything was over, Bonnie had caused her to be forced into summer school.

Camille was nearly finished with her work and would soon have enough credits for her diploma. But the very idea of someone as famous as her being forced to take summer school was an insult. The media had had a field day with the news. They, along with nearly everyone else in the world believed her to be the shallow, ignorant heiress to the fortune of a cat food company. A few jokes were made on late night talk shows along with scattered internet parodies.

While she knew that she had been the one to start the conflict with Bonnie, she was also sure that she would be the one to finish it. No one publically humiliated Camille and got away with it.

Senior watched as she took a seat at the large round table that Junior was sitting at. He sat down with them and folded his hands neatly in front of him.

"So, what are your plans for today?" he asked.

"I dunno. I haven't really planned anything specific since that whole thing in Milan."

"Yes, and before I forget, let me commend you on the fine job that you did there. Team Possible was nowhere to be found when Gemini and I attacked the Global Justice base. It was just as you said it would be."

"Of course I was right," she said casually. "Kim hates me. And Ron has this deluded idea that he can 'save me from myself' or something dumb like that. I mean, I like the guy, don't get me wrong. He's nice and stuff, but I do not need him to tell me who or what to be."

There had once been a time where she may have gone along with his idea and Ron's plan. But that was before she had found something new in her life to give her the support and affection that she had desperately craved all of her life. Spending time with Senior over the past few months had given her an opportunity to feel what it was like to have family who cared for her. It may not have been ideal, and she may not have even been looking for it, but it had found her regardless. And she was not about to pass it up.

It put her in a precarious position when it came to her ex. She had once clung to him when he had been turned evil simply because he was there to provide her with care. Even after that, when the drama of battling with the Supreme One had died down, she had shown interest in maintaining some sort of friendship with him, perhaps even more. But this was, again, before she had found her place at the side of an evil multi-billionaire. Now that she no longer required Ron's presence in her life, she did not know what to feel about the whole situation with him.

"Tell me, Camille. What exactly are your feelings for the boy? If I remember correctly, you dated him earlier in the year."

Camille let out a loud breath that blew her bangs off of her forehead. "I don't know anymore. 'My only love sprung from my only hate," she said, quoting Shakespeare.

Senior had come to learn that Camille had a deep love for the works of William Shakespeare. He also knew that she idolized the character of Iago from 'Othello'. And she had played that role to a tee when she had undertaken the task of breaking up the close friendship of Kim and Ron.

"I feel that I should tell you that having any kind of romantic feelings for the enemy spits on super villain tradition," he said before looking at Junior. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, yes, father. I remember your talk about my feelings for Kim Possible when I thought that she was my blue fox."

"He actually had the nerve to say he would turn me in if he caught me doing something evil," she said referring to her conversation with Ron from a few days earlier. "If that's his idea of 'saving' me then I want no part of it."

"Yes, the heroes always have these crazy ideas of incarceration and rehabilitation," Senior said knowingly. "They think they can just lock you away and you will suddenly lose the urge to conquer the world. But the truth is that it only fills you with a burning desire for revenge against the world and those who imprisoned you."

"Yeah, and people call me stupid…" she said amusingly.

"So while we are on the subject, would you like to work on your evil laugh some more?"

Junior couldn't help but smile at his father's words. He had sat through hours of practicing his evil laugh at his father's direction, but to no avail. It was never good enough for the elderly super villain. And now that he was free from that lifestyle, he could sit back and watch as someone else was placed under its yoke.

"Do we have to?" she whined.

"Of course, my dear. An evil laugh is an essential part of being a super villain. How are your enemies supposed to know of their defeat and your success if they cannot hear you gloating and laughing at their despair?"

"I don't know. I prefer to just destroy them psychologically and smirk at them, knowing they can't do a thing about it because no one knows that I'm a villain. To the world I'm just a ditzy, spoiled heiress who wouldn't even know how to formulate an evil plan."

"Yes, but eventually you will need to fully develop your arsenal if you are to inherit my evil empire. So come on, let me hear your best evil laugh."

Camille sighed in annoyance as she turned to look away from Senior. She felt self-conscious about trying to laugh evilly while having people's attention on her. After a few moments of silence she took a deep breath and gave it her best effort.

She heard a soft snicker come from Junior, who quickly returned his attention to his magazine. Camille simply glared in his direction.

Senior pondered what he had just heard for a few seconds before sharing his thoughts. "It is not the worst I have ever heard. However, I do feel that it needs to be about twenty percent eviler."

"Twenty percent eviler? How would I even do that?"

"Try making your evil laugh deeper and throatier. It needs to be menacing and intimidating."

"Deeper?" she asked. "Please, as if I would ever want some manly voice like Shego has."

"Ah yes, Shego. Yes, her voice is a bit deep. I imagine she has a wonderful evil laugh."

"Whatever. I don't care one way or another."

"I am quite happy that I do not have the option to hire her to tutor you like I did for Junior. She would probably be unwilling to work alongside you after the part you played in acquiring the Tempus Simia with Ron Stoppable from Dr. Drakken's lair."

"Time travelling freak…" Camille said bitterly.

"Yes, I am afraid I still do not understand the exact details of how exactly a future version of Shego was able to interfere in our own time. However, I only care that this menace was defeated before she could prevent us from taking over the world ourselves."

Camille remembered the "death" of the Shego from the future known as the Supreme One. She could only imagine that Shego had given herself the name. She was certainly arrogant enough. And without Dr. Drakken there to enable her laziness and bare minimum effort in his plans, there was no telling just what she could do to the world. At least Camille had seen a hint of her potential when she had learned that in some alternate timeline Shego had taken over the world. She was thankful that the Tempus Simia idol was destroyed in this timeline. It had caused far too much trouble for far too many people. Herself included.

And most of what had occurred had happened in Middleton. For such an insignificant city it drew a lot of attention from the forces of order and chaos alike. She wouldn't mind going back there soon in order to tie up a few loose ends. A certain brunette was at the forefront of her mind.

Camille decided to change the subject to try to wriggle her way into justifying a trip back to the city. "So, what's cyclops boy's next move? I take it that this whole partnership thing worked. What do I have to do next?"

"I am not certain of what Gemini plans to do next exactly. But he has told me that it will be against Global Justice. And he has informed me that he will require our services once more. For a price, of course."

"I would hope so. I'm not going to help that freak out for free."

Senior smirked at the blonde's attitude. "Yes, quite. Being charitable would be the antithesis of evil."

"Well if he needs us to do some more GJ stuff, I take it that he will need us close to their base in Middleton. And close to Kim as well. So I'm going to go ahead and take a trip there tomorrow."

"You're leaving so soon?" he asked, the disappointment evident in his voice. "But you have only just come back today. We have many more evil lessons to go over."

"And we'll have plenty of time for that once this job is over. But right now I have a score to settle with a few people back in that boring little town. Personal issues."

Senior smiled wickedly at the mention of personal issues. "Then I shall not hold you back. As I once told Junior, revenge is the noblest of all villain traditions. But tell me, just who do you seek revenge against? And how will you be doing it?"

"Oh, just a few people at Middleton High School. A few people who pissed me off when I was going there. As for how I'll do it… well, I'll have to do a little recon work first. I can't very well ruin their lives if I don't know what's going on in them."

"Very well. I know that you will succeed in this endeavor. I shall arrange for the helicopter to take you to Gran Canaria Airport where our private jet will be waiting."

"That works," she said before she lowered her voice. "Now which of these new outfits should I take on my trip…" she said to herself as she rummaged through her shopping bags.

Senior watched her examine clothes and shoes before he turned back to Junior who was still perusing his magazine. He sometimes wondered how the only two of his descendents who were a part of his life of crime were so different from him. He did not know if it could just be a generational thing, or if the fact that they were both born into vast fortunes made them this materialistic.

He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Junior gasp. He saw his son place his magazine on the table and look at him wide-eyed.

"Father, I have just read the most exciting news," he said with glee. "Apparently Jimmy Blamhammer is close to beginning production of a new movie!"

"I do not see the wonder in this," Senior admitted. "This man produces a mindless action movie every year, or at least that is how it seems. What is so special about this one?"

"It is only one of the biggest comic book franchises in the world! This fall they will begin shooting a reimagined Fearless Ferret movie! And it is scheduled to be released next summer. This will be the blockbuster movie event of the entire summer movie season!"

"I see. And you are excited for this? You have never struck me as one who is interested in super heroes. In fact I should hope you would be more interested in the super villains that they face."

"No, you do not understand, father. I have just read who the primary antagonist will be."

"Who?"

"The diabolical, scheming villain known as 'Blaine'. And I feel that I would be a perfect fit for the role! Father, this could be my big break. If I were to land this role then it would set me on the path to superstardom!"

"I am not familiar with this 'Blaine' character. What makes you think that you would be able to play the part so well?"

Junior couldn't help but smile as he spoke. "Blaine is muscular, intelligent and has an accent! I possess all of those qualities!"

His smile was instantly replaced by a scowl when he heard Camille scoff at his explanation. She had not looked up from what she was doing. Junior decided to not even dignify her skepticism with a reply. He realized that they had barely addressed each other directly since she had returned.

"And as you know, I have learned many martial arts skills from Shego when she tutored me last year. I would be the perfect man to play Blaine! And I would be a super villain as well. I may not wish to choose that path in real life, but I could play one on the silver screen."

Senior considered Junior's words for a few moments before replying. "You will be moving to Hollywood soon as it is. I believe that this is a perfect situation for you. Go and chase your dreams, my son. Perhaps this is destiny at work."

"I believe it is. I am so excited that I can barely contain myself! I must go and pack my own bags and call Midas to inform him that we will be leaving sooner than we had planned!"

Without waiting for a response, Junior grabbed his magazine from the table and made his way to his room.

Senior looked back at Camille who was still going through her belongings. It dawned on him that in the next day he would be all alone in this lair. Both his son and his granddaughter would be going to the United States for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile he would be left alone on his private island with nothing to keep him company but the brand new Spinning Tops of Doom.

XXXXXXXXXX

All around her was the familiar sight of polished steel. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, they were all cold metal. She figured that it was fitting. Her brother never was very imaginative. He was never one for decoration or bright and lively décor. It amused her that even after all these years he had not changed.

Dr. Betty Director sat on her bed, one of the few things in her cell that was not made of steel. She stared up at a small ventilation duct, one that would be far too small for a human to fit inside. When she had been brought to this place it had been one of the first things she had checked as she hoped for a way out. Or a way in, for a certain teen hero and her sidekick. But her hopes had been dashed when she realized that no human would be able to crawl through.

Time had no meaning in this room. There were no clocks, no television, and no radio, nothing for her to know anything about the outside world. With no windows she had absolutely zero perception of time. But if she had to guess, she would imagine that she had been in this room for around three days. And those three days had passed by painfully slow.

Betty wondered why no one had been in to see her, other than when a guard came in to deliver her meal three times a day. Normally Gemini would be there to gloat and mock her for her failures and his successes. But he had not made a single appearance. She did not even remember seeing him when her base in Middleton had been attacked. The fact that she knew so little was perhaps more irritating than knowing how bad things truly were.

But suddenly, as if the man had been reading her thoughts, the doors of the room whooshed open. Outside them she saw Gemini flanked by two purple-suited guards on either side. Both masked men stood in place as her brother entered the room alone.

"Dear sister, how are you feeling today?" he asked with genuine care.

"Screw you," she said with as much spite as he had shown concern.

"Now now, is that any way to treat not only your brother, but your generous host as well?"

"I don't know what you plan on doing with me, but you should know that I'm not going to tell you anything that you want to hear."

"Talk? What would we talk about?" he asked with feigned confusion. "Our childhoods? Shall I get mother on the phone again to settle a disagreement about our past?"

"Grow up, Sheldon," she said speaking his true name. "You know exactly what I mean. And by the way, you're the only one who lives in the past. It's actually quite pathetic if you ask me."

Gemini worked hard to keep the muscles of his face from exploding with rage. Not only did he hate it when his twin sister berated him, he hated it when she spoke his real name. The name that he had been known as before he became Gemini.

"You wound me, dear sister," he said with mock hurt. "Very well, forget I said any of that. I just came here to tell you that I already found what I was looking for. I don't need you to talk. Of course you can beg or complain all you want, but I won't care."

"Is that so? Tell me, Sheldon. What exactly did you find?"

"Does Avarice Complex mean anything to you?"

Betty felt her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she got her emotions under control. But she had already been betrayed be her body's actions. A sly grin from her brother told her that he knew this too.

"I thought so. I've found it. And soon I will take everything contained within it."

"Shel-" Betty said before she stopped herself. Right now she did not want to be on his bad side. "Gemini, that place exists for a reason. People like Dr. Drakken and Professor Dementor have invented far too many devices and machines that could bring about a global disaster. You can't do this."

"I can. And I will. And with you locked up in here, there's nothing you can do to stop me or the WEE. And soon, the world will be mine."

Gemini began to laugh at both his triumph and the look on his sister's face as he stepped out of the room. As soon as he had the doors closed, once more leaving Betty in silent solitude.

In just a matter of minutes she had been left wishing that she was still ignorant of what was going on outside of the room. Knowing the truth, and knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop it truly was worse.


	4. Déjà vu

Authors Note: As always, major thanks go out to the people who care about this story. I hope everyone is enjoying it. And thanks to Brandon for his proofreading.

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

"_If you play to win as I do, the game never ends."_

_~Stan Mikita_

XXXXXXXXXX

Days of uneasy boredom followed the recent visit to the Global Justice headquarters. Wade was having a hard time tracking down the new lair of Senior Senor Sr. It made sense to Kim and Ron. The man was not only evil, but a multi-billionaire as well. If someone in his position did not want to be found, it was almost certain that he would not be. But then again, most people did not have a young super genius working with them like Team Possible did. Kim knew that anything was possible for a Possible. She suspected the same was true for Wade.

Aside from the action in Milan and the attack on Global Justice, things had been very quiet as of late. She suspected however that this was simply the cliché "calm before the storm". She knew that several dangerous super villains had been released back into the general public after WEE's raid. Among them were two of the deadliest in the game; Monkey Fist and Professor Dementor.

Kim thought back to over three months ago to the last time she had seen Monkey Fist. He had been lying on the ground unconscious with a compound fracture in one of his arms. That was the day where so much had changed. It was also been the day that not nearly enough had changed.

She and Ron were sitting at her kitchen table doing research when her mother walked into the room. She had a phone pressed between her shoulder and ear as she went to the refrigerator and took something out. Kim couldn't help but overhear the end of the conversation as she attempted to focus on her work.

"Okay. We'll see you soon," she said before hanging up. She then turned her attention to her daughter. "Kim, that was your cousin Larry. He's going to be here in a few minutes."

Kim looked up from her book in surprise. "Larry's coming? When did this happen? And why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I was a bit surprised too. It was kind of a last minute thing. I guess he just wanted to see us before he goes off to college. After that we probably won't see him again until Thanksgiving."

That was a simple enough answer. Kim looked to the calendar and saw that she and Ron had only a precious handful of days until they would begin their senior year of high school. Larry had already graduated earlier in the year and would soon be going off to school in a totally different part of the country. While she had little in common with her cousin, she did enjoy the family get-togethers. And she knew that he and Ron shared a great deal in common when it came to their love for video games, science fiction and comic books.

"That's cool," Ron said. "We haven't hung out in forever. I can't wait to kick his butt at some Zombie Mayhem. We can get Felix over too and pull an all-nighter. Are you in, Kim?"

Kim frowned as she looked his way. "Have you forgotten about the majorly important mission stuff we have going on? We can't give up and just play video games all night."

"Well, it's not like we're making any progress," he countered. "I honestly don't see the point in looking through all these books and online and stuff about potential island lairs. We should probably just stick to relying on Wade for this stuff."

"I know. But we have to at least try. Even if we get nothing out of this, Team Possible has to at least make an effort to help."

"You just don't want to play video games with us because you're so terrible at them, right?" he smiled.

"That is so not true…"

Ron said nothing as he continued to give her a sly grin.

"Okay it's totally true," she sighed. "I honestly don't see why you're so into those fighting games. I mean, hello? We fight for real. We do all of the punching and kicking in real life. What do you get out of doing it on a TV screen?"

"Do we fight zombies in real life? If so I'd like you to tell me where I was when that went down, because I'd be pretty upset if I missed a chance to apply my mad zombie mashing skills."

"No, we've never fought zombies or mummies or anything like that," she said as she paused a few moments to think. "But I wouldn't be surprised at all of someone like Drakken was able to figure out a way to make some."

"Wait, you think that's an actual possibility?"

"I'm just saying it wouldn't surprise me. I mean, remember that time we took on a supernatural Egyptian jackal guy? Or all of the mystical monkey stuff? Magic does seem to be very real when you think about it."

Ron thought about the things she had just mentioned, and one she had omitted. He wondered if it was intentional. "Yeah, you're right," he said before stopping for a few seconds. "Kim. Can we get someone to make some zombies? I want to fight them."

"This has got to be one of the dumbest conversations we've ever had. And we've had a lot of them."

"No no no I'm serious! If there's one thing I can honestly say I'm good at in this world, it's zombie slaying. At least in theory. Because you know, I've never actually done it in real life. But with a controller in my hands I'm the king."

"Are you sure you wouldn't be afraid of them? I mean, how can you be afraid of monkeys and not zombies? The living dead who are decaying corpses that want to eat your brains wouldn't be just a little bit off-putting?"

"Tell me this, Kim. Was I terrorized by zombies at Camp Wannaweep?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, of course not."

"And there's my point. Case closed. I have no reason at all to fear zombies."

"Easier said than done. Put a few walking corpses in front of you that want to devour your brains and we'll see what happens."

"That's what I'm saying! Let's make it happen! Call up Drakken or Dementor and have them get started. That way we can prove once and for all whether I would be afraid of them, or if I would be a world-saving zombie slayer."

"Okay, seriously. This conversation has gone way beyond the point of rational. I won't even get into the part about how if we knew where Drakken or Dementor were that we would go get them and bring them to GJ."

The mention of Global Justice helped get Kim's mind back on track. She had only been distracted for a few moments, but the mention of the organization brought back the fact that Dr. Director had been abducted by her evil twin brother. For the sake of Betty's life and many more, she had to be found and rescued. While Kim did not know why the abduction had taken place exactly, she did know that things like this did not happen unless they were a part of some dark larger picture.

And the fact that on the same day she and Ron had been drawn to Milan set off her weirdar. Things did not happen randomly in the business she was in. People did not assault a major Global Justice facility while Team Possible was coincidently out of the country. But right now she could prove nothing. She wondered if Ron would simply think she was being paranoid again, like he did a few months ago when Camille had first entered their lives. She would like to think that he would trust her implicitly now when it came to matters with the blonde, but he still had some notion of saving the heiress from herself. Kim decided that she would wait for further information before making a move.

Kim was suddenly snapped from her thoughts when she head Ron saying her name. She looked up from the book that she had been staring at but had not been focusing on while she was lost in her thoughts.

"Kim?" she heard again.

She gave her head a quick shake and blinked her eyes a few times before looking at Ron. "Sorry, must have zoned out for a few seconds. What were you saying?"

He gave her a another smile. "I was just saying you're right. The whole zombie idea is kind of stupid. It can wait for a day when there's not some international crisis going on. But when that day comes, you can bet that I'm going to be all over it. We're going to call in favors and all that stuff, and we're going to put the theory to the test."

"If creating zombies is even possible."

"It doesn't even have to be dead zombies either. It could be some of those fake lame zombies that are in movies these days where people catch some a virus and it turns them into 'zombies'. I'd be willing to fight fake zombies if that's all we could get."

Kim put her hand up to stop him from saying another word. "Okay, we are so not getting off topic again. End of all zombie discussions for now, both real and fake. Okay?"

"Got it, KP."

"Okay, so I've been reading up about some of these islands that are close to mainland Europe both in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. They're pretty much all part of some other country, and would likely be in some sort of records if some billionaire decided to purchase one. If these purchases are in any official government records, I think Wade can find one that Senior bought."

"And if he bought some other island that wouldn't be in any records? Or what if he's not even on another island? I mean I personally think he is on an island, but what if he's not? What if he decided to go to like, Norway or something?"

"Norway?" Kim frowned.

"Yeah, Norway. I don't know why. But what if he decided he didn't want an island because it didn't work out well the last time?"

Kim poked at the insides of her cheeks with her tongue as she thought about it. In the end she came to what she felt was a logical conclusion. "Nah, I don't see him doing that. He loves Junior too much to move to somewhere that's cold like that, and not in the middle of nowhere."

"What does him loving Junior have to do with it?" Ron asked.

"Well, Junior wouldn't be able to get a good tan in a place like Norway. At least not year round, unless he decided to use another big tanning lamp. But I get the feeling that he would want the real thing. Plus the last time he used the giant tanning lamp they drained Europe's power and we got called in. Not exactly the best way to stay incognito. And then there's the fact that Senior loves his privacy. Nothing like a private island for that. They both just strike me as private island types, you know?"

Ron blinked a few times in surprise before he could speak. "Huh. Wow, major props on the detective work. You've convinced me. But then again I never had any solid theories to begin with."

"Well in any case it's good to have a solid lead. Knowing your foes really does make things so much easier."

Both Kim and Ron looked up as they head the doorbell ring. A few moments later Anne answered it. They could tell from her reaction that Larry had arrived.

Kim decided that now would be as good of a time as any to take a break from their research. She set aside the books and laptop to make room for her cousin. After a few seconds she saw him come into the kitchen.

Larry looked as normal as he ever did. Armed with messy brown hair and glasses, he was a formidable text chat warrior and master of all things geek-related. In one of his hands he was carrying a small post office package.

She smiled as she stood up and walked over to give him a hug. "Hey, Larry. Nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Kim," he said as he returned the embrace. After they came apart he looked over her shoulder to see Ron sitting there. "What's up, Ron?"

"Oh you know, all that world savey stuff we usually do," he said nonchalantly. "Kim's working as hard as ever, and I'm slacking off as hard as ever."

"Yeah, imagine what we could accomplish if we both tried as hard as we could…" Kim trailed off.

"True, but there does need to be a balance," Ron said. "Since you're the overachiever then I have to be the underachiever so that everything evens out. Otherwise there would be total chaos and anarchy in the world."

"The worldwide chaos and anarchy is exactly what we're trying to prevent. It's why we're looking for Dr. Director."

"And I'm here to stop you from overworking yourself to the point where you'll no longer be effective. You need to learn to rest and relax sometimes and not just work yourself to the point of exhaustion. You'll do Dr. Director no good if you're not at your best. See? That's the balance thing I'm talking about."

Kim merely gave an annoyed grunt in the direction of her best friend. She was not about to admit that he had a point. Instead she returned her focus to Larry. "So, Larry. What's new in the world of, um comic books and all that good stuff."

Larry furrowed his brow in confusion, like he did not comprehend what Kim had just asked him. But after a few seconds he took the bait. "Well, there's a new Fearless Ferret movie that's going to start filming soon. It's all over all the big comic book message boards and stuff. A lot of people are seriously mad at it."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that stuff," Ron said. "Apparently people are not thrilled with the idea of a reimagined Fearless Ferret."

"Of course they're not!" Larry said angrily. "They're going to destroy the whole franchise! They're going to destroy everything the Fearless Ferret is all about!"

Kim could barely suppress the smirk on her face as she moved to take a seat. While she was fairly clueless on this topic, she would sit back and enjoy the heated discussion between two hardcore comic book fans. She knew from her past experiences with Ron and Larry that fanboys cared passionately about their hobbies.

"I mean, have you heard about who they're casting as the main villain in the movie? Blaine! Blaine isn't even one of the original Fearless Ferret villains. He was introduced in like the early 90s. And they think that he's a good idea for a movie villain? The idea is just preposterous!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ron agreed. "Did you hear that Wonder Weasel is going to be CGI too? I think that the puppet thing worked just fine in the original 60s version of the TV show. They're going to ruin everything with stupid unnecessary technology when what they did back in the original Fearless Ferret show worked just fine."

"And they actually got Jimmy Blamhammer to direct it. I mean, Jimmy freaking Blamhammer? All the guy does is blow stuff up. He's not a real director. All he does is see how many explosions and pointless actions scenes he can fit into a single movie. I mean if he directed Apollo 13 I'm sure he would have made the moon blow up as the astronauts were trying to escape from it."

The thought of that make Ron chuckle a little. "I know, I'm not looking forward to that at all. He's going to focus more on destroying buildings and stuff than actual plot and character development."

Larry pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he struggled to speak. "Yeah, someone really needs to stop this movie from being made. They're spitting on everything that Timothy North ever did. They're spitting on all of the fans who have been reading the comics for decades." Larry suddenly stopped and looked at both Kim and Ron. "Hey, you two can do it, can't you?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Excuse me?" Kim said at the same time.

"Yeah, you two go all over the world and fight evil and stop injustices and stuff. How about you two go to Hollywood and stop this movie from being made?"

"Um… how exactly would we do that?" Ron asked. "I mean, even if I do present a good argument, which I totally would because I'm a hardcore fan and I know my stuff, why would they listen to me?"

"Because you guys can do anything. That's what your motto is, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I don't see how-"

"So you could go there and trash the set. You've blown up evil guy's lairs before, haven't you? This would be just like that. Blowing up the set of the bad guys."

"Larry, I'm not sure if you're serious or not," Kim said with a slight smirk on her face. "I mean, I know how you two can get when you get really into your comic and sci fi discussions."

"I'm one hundred percent serious," Larry clarified. "You would have the support of thousands of other people on the internet throughout the world. You two would be heroes to the whole fandom!"

Ron started to giggle from the very idea of accomplishing what Larry was suggesting and then being proclaimed as champions of the nerd community for doing so. The whole thing seemed so surreal but appealing. His name would finally be known to the world. He would be the savior of the Fearless Ferret fans. He would be the one who delivered them from the Jimmy Blamhammer abomination that threatened to make a mockery of the whole franchise.

But before he could even consider saying yes, Kim intervened.

"First, that would be a major crime, Larry. Like, the go to prison for life level. And that doesn't even include any potential deaths if we blow up the set. That upgrades it to a capital crime. And second, it would be a major abuse of our power. We can't just go around doing what we want because we have the power to do so. We have a lot of responsibility that comes with our power."

"Nice one, KP," Ron said with approval. "Way to inject a comic book reference in the comic book discussion."

"What?" she asked. "When did I make a reference?"

Ron laughed off her confusion as he looked back to Larry. "But anyway, she's right, Larry. We couldn't do that, despite how much I would like to do so. We can't just go and wreck a movie set just because we don't want it to be made. Major abuse of power and all that stuff Kim said."

Larry sighed as he took a seat at the table with the two other teens. He seemed deflated and sadder now that his wishful thinking had been dispelled. "Yeah, I know you guys are right. But it was just a cool thought, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I'd love to see someone stop that movie from being made. Or at least get a real director and a real script that would do some justice to the franchise."

"Right," Larry said before changing the subject. "Oh I forgot. There was a package for you in the mail when I got here, Kim. I've been holding it this entire time and didn't even think about giving it to you. I guess I just got so caught up in the Fearless Ferret thing. Sorry about that."

"It's okay, Larry," she said as she took it from him. "Weird, I wasn't expecting anything. I wonder what it is?"

"Think it's a ransom demand?" Ron asked.

"Ransom?"

"For Dr. Director. Maybe the WEE decided to send you a list of demands or something. I don't know. But maybe."

"We'll find out once I get it open," she said as she pulled the long cardboard strip from the package which allowed it to be easily opened. She reached in and pulled out a VHS tape in a thin plastic protective case.

"Certainly doesn't look like a ransom," she said as she looked at it in confusion. "Why would anyone send me an unmarked tape?"

"Why would anyone send you a tape period?" Ron added. "I mean, VHS tapes went out of style years ago. Everything is DVD and Blu-ray now."

"Only one way to find out. Let's go to the living room and watch it."

The three teens stood and walked into the living room. After inserting the tape into a VCR which hadn't seen use in many years, they sat down on the couch and waited for whatever was on the tape to play. For the first few seconds there was nothing but static.

"Someone doesn't know how to record…" Ron commented. "Maybe they forget to set to channel three or whatever?"

"This is kind of weird. Why would someone send me a blank tape?"

"I don't know. What's the return address?"

Before Kim could speak the TV suddenly showed a picture. The sight of the person on the screen sent chills running down the spines of both Kim and Ron.

"Hey, Kimmie. How are things in Middleton?" the voice on the screen addressed her.

Kim and Ron sat staring wide-eyed at the TV as none other than the Supreme One stood on screen looking directly into the camera. Kim would recognize this older Shego from anywhere. Not only did her facial features appear to be around twenty years older, but she had the trademark cape that the future Shego wore.

It had only been three months earlier in a temple located in central Africa that Kim met the person who was behind all of the events which had been causing chaos and confusion in her life. While she still did not entirely comprehend how it was possible or why it had happened, some future Shego from another timeline had returned to this one and had set out to acquire the stone statue of a monkey known as the Tempus Simia. With it the bearer of the enchanted item could travel though time at will. With this power a person could rule the world. And it turned out that the Supreme One once had.

Kim had learned all of this in the temple as she fought to save both herself and Ron from the woman's plans. Ron at the time had been under the influence of the Attitudinator, and was fighting for control of the item himself. In the end the Supreme One had been defeated and she had seen the older woman vanish into thin air when the Tempus Simia was shattered on the ground. Kim had no idea how the woman was speaking to her again. She should not be here. She was impossible. And yet there she stood on her TV screen.

"You know, things are getting kind of boring again. So I wanted to send you this message to give you a little warning. I'm back. And I'm going to destroy you and everyone you hold dear for foiling my plans a few months ago. You don't know where or when it will happen. You don't know how it will happen. But soon I'm going to make your world burn. And I just want to let you know that there's nothing you can do to stop me. So have fun with this information. I'll be seeing you really soon."

As soon as the Supreme One was finished speaking the screen returned to showing static. Kim picked up the remote and fast forwarded through the tape to see if there were any more messages on it. When they reached the end and found none, she rewound it to watch the message again. The three had been speechless the entire time. But the silence was soon broken by Ron.

"Um… Kim?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Ron?"

"What just happened?"

"I… I have no idea."

"Yeah. At least I'm not the only one for once."

"I'm kind of clueless too," Larry added. "About everything. Do you mind filling me in on the details?"

"Yeah, in a minute," Kim said as she watched the screen as the tape rewound. "Be right back."

Kim got up in a hurry and dashed back into the kitchen where the package was. In a few seconds she was back and sat down next to Ron and Larry again. She was frowning as she looked at the box.

"What are you looking at?" Ron asked.

"The return address."

"What does it say?"

"It says it's from somewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo…" she said as she trailed off. In her mind she imagined a map of Africa and tried to locate the country she was looking for. Thinking back to her history and geography classes she was able to locate the country in question. "Which is in central Africa."

"Central Africa?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure the temple of the Tempus Simia was in the Congo too…"

"So that means that this is legit? But how? I don't understand."

"I don't either. I don't understand any of that mystical monkey stuff. I mean, you probably know more than I do. You're the one who got zapped with the powers a couple years ago. Didn't you learn anything at Yamanouchi?"

"Very little, honestly. I have no control over the stuff. It just sort of comes and goes."

"Great."

"What do we do?"

Kim let out a sigh as she just looked down at the box. "First thing we do is get this thing checked for fingerprints. We need to find out as much as we can about who has had access to it. After that… I have nothing."

"What about Wade? Can't he figure something out?"

"I don't know what there would be to figure out. Wade may be a genius, but he's not master of the time stream. At least not that I know of. I'm afraid that for this Wade won't be a lot of help. Not even he could explain how a time travelling Shego from the future managed to get back here after fading away into nothingness."

"So to repeat what you said, we have nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada."

"Afraid so. This is just great. We have enough on our plate as it is."

"Yeah. It just keeps piling on. Now we have little miss time traveler to worry about too. It couldn't have come at a worse time."

Larry was at a loss for words seeing his cousin and friend in such distress without knowing why. He didn't think that anything he could do or say would make things better. And he especially did not want to get in the way when it came to world saving activities. He would leave that to those with experience. He could be filled in on the details at a later time.

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and get out of your hair," he said as he stood from the couch. "I've been meaning to talk to your mom about something anyway. I'll see you guys later."

"Alright, see ya, Larry," Ron said.

"Yeah. Later," Kim said, unable to hide the worry in her tone.

The eldest teen left the room, leaving Kim and Ron alone to think about the newest problem in their lives.

XXXXXXXXXX

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

What had occurred several days ago was supposed to be a new beginning. A fresh start. Or at the very least a return to the status quo. He had had grand plans of making a return, dreams of glory that only he had the potential to realize. But alas, it was seemingly not meant to be. Here he was again, in another cell awaiting the unknown.

Since he had broken out of the Global Justice facility with the others, or more accurately, had been broken out by the WEE, Professor Dementor had been pondering the hilarity of it all. There was nothing else he could do in his current predicament. Being angry with the situation would do nothing to resolve it. The fact that he had traded the relative safety of an organization with "justice" in its title for one that had "evil" in its own did not go unnoticed by the yellow-skinned man. At least in Global Justice he knew that they would follow rules and regulations in handling him. The worst case scenario would be that he would simply never again see the light of day. But at least there he was treated humanely and fed regularly.

But here in the confines of some unknown Worldwide Evil Empire complex, he knew that no such rules applied. He was in the business of evil after all; he knew such things to be true. Captives had no rights. The conquered were at the mercy of their conquerors. He had no illusions that Gemini and his followers would eliminate him at a moment's notice. The fact that he had not been told about his situation one way or another in days only caused further anxiety. He wondered if that was the point.

He was still thinking about these things up until the point where the stainless steel door that led into his cell opened. Looking up, Dementor saw his captor being escorted by two of his purple-clad henchmen with Greek letters on their chests. The villain sat up on his bed so that he could properly converse with his newest jail keeper.

Gemini was the first to speak. "Professor Dementor," he said smoothly. "One of the greatest inventors of the modern age. Though your work is completely unknown to the general public due to the fact that you are one of the most wanted super villains in the world. However in our small community your inventions are second to none. Not even Dr. Drakken can match what you are able to achieve."

For a moment all of Dementor's worries were forgotten as he beamed with pride from the praises being heaped upon him. The fact that Gemini had elevated him above Dr. Drakken was not lost on him.

"Yes, this is all true," he said, unable to conceal his satisfaction. "You know your stuff, Gemini. But if you know this, then vhy do you keep me imprisoned here?"

Gemini ignored the question as he continued. "The Transportulator in particular is one of the most remarkable devices I have ever seen. It would completely revolutionize transportation. It would spell the end of iron grip that oil companies hold on the general public. Then why, why did Global Justice never attempt to utilize this technology?" he asked.

Dementor had no idea. He also did not know if the question was rhetorical or if Gemini expected an answer for him. But before he could give an answer Gemini continued once more.

"That is another matter for another day, however. Today I'm not here to discuss that particular invention with you. I'm here to ask you a single simple question," he said as he finally looked Dementor in the eye. "Did you ever receive a trial?"

That question was an easy one to answer. "I did not," Dementor said. "I vas locked away vithout a second thought."

"Precisely," Gemini smiled. "The great global entity that touts "justice" offers none to those they oppose. It is one of the many contradictions that plague the world. Under whose authority do they work? What is their standard for what is good and evil? One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. It's nothing but self-righteous posturing."

"Yes, Gemini," Dementor agreed. "However I can say the same for vhat is happening right now. I did not leave Global Justice custody to trade one prison for another."

"Ah," Gemini said thoughtfully. "But that is where you are wrong. Today I am your judge, jury and executioner. I will give you the trial that you were denied for the months that you rotted in a Global Justice cell. Do you agree to these terms?"

Being at the mercy of a madman with a fully functioning bionic hand was not a good place to be. However he knew that there was only one correct answer. To deny the power that Gemini currently held over him was as good as signing his own death warrant.

"I agree."

"Good. A time of great change is coming. Soon nothing will ever be the same again. And in this time I want to know whose side you will be on. Will you join me, or will you join them?"

It was another easy question. Even if he had not been a captive here the answer would have been the same. When it came to the Worldwide Evil Empire and Global Justice, Dementor knew which side he was on.

"I am on your side, of course."

The wolfish grin of Gemini's only grew. "Excellent. Then I hereby grant your freedom from this cell so that you may work under me with no hindrance in preparation for what is to come."

Gemini turned and stepped out of the cell and gestured for Dementor to follow. After gingerly standing up from his bed, he stretched out his legs and followed the man out. The two guards were close on his heels. Gemini began walking down the corridor and was soon speaking again.

"I am going to reunite you with all of those wonderful toys of yours soon," he said nonchalantly.

"My inventions?" he wondered. "But how will you do that? Vere they not destroyed by Global Justice vhen I was captured?"

"No. Much like the small sample of Smallpox stored in the American Center for Disease Control, they were kept under tight security in case they were needed for some reason in the future, be it good or evil. And as I said before, Global Justice's definitions of good and evil may vary greatly from everyone else's. The very fact that they did not dismantle your doomsday machines in the first place may be considered evil itself."

This news was shocking to Dementor. The fact that his inventions were still active was the last thing he would have expected from Global Justice. But the thought of being able to see them again, as well as work on new machines had completely turned his mood around.

"This is most vondervul, however I am still in the dark about vhat it is exactly that you vant from me if you vill soon have my inventions."

Gemini stopped and turned to face his newest ally. "I want you to make more for me. I want you to have zero limitations as you create the most potent weapons of destruction that your genius mind can come up with. Will you do that for me, Professor Dementor?"

Gemini's single cold, calculating eye betrayed none of his intentions as he spoke to the Teutonic terror. Though one did not need to be told the intentions when they were spelled out as clearly as Gemini had just done. Weapons. Pure destruction. Dementor assumed that they were to be used against Global Justice. And if that was the case then he would have no reservations. He certainly held no love for the organization that had imprisoned him for the past few months.

However, while Dementor was evil by most people's standards, he was not a monster. Genocide was not why he was in the profession that he was. There was one question he had to ask before he could answer the one just posed to him.

"I do not vish to murder innocent people," he stated flatly. Maybe it was rude, maybe it was stepping over the line, but he knew he had to say it. He would not be the father of inventions that would wipe out entire populations, if not worse.

Gemini let out a dark chuckle as he continued walking. "Murder innocent people?" he asked innocently. "My friend, we are doing nothing of the sort. We're going to do great things together. We're going to save lives."

That statement puzzled Dementor to no end. He was going to create weapons to save lives? Did Gemini really believe what he was saying? Did he believe in the theory that having such destructive devices would be a deterrent to starting wars? If that was the idea behind it, then Dementor certainly did not agree with it. No matter how potent the weapon, there would always be some out there who would be crazy enough to use them, even if it did mean mutually annihilation. But Gemini had said that they would not be murdering innocent people. That was all he could really go on at the moment.

"And," he continued. "I'm going to get you a gift to show my appreciation for your assistance."

"A gift? Vhat is it?"

"It's a surprise. You'll find out in good time."

The two continued to walk in silence until they reached the central area of the WEE complex. Dementor was awe-struck by the sheer magnitude of it all. It made his own labs seem amateurish in comparison. With the equipment and manpower here he would not only be able to reach new heights in his research, but also be able to do it at a much quicker pace. If Gemini wanted new inventions then he would get them. And soon the brilliance of Professor Dementor would be known throughout the world.


	5. Feints

Authors Note: So yeah, it's been a while since I've updated. I could offer you a list of excuses for why, but I doubt you'd really care. So here's a chapter.

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

_"Just when they think they got the answers, I change the questions."_

_~"Rowdy"__ Roddy Piper_

XXXXXXXXXX

This was exactly what she needed.

It was Saturday afternoon when Kim decided to go to the mall. Not only was the fall collection premiering today at Club Banana, but she could also use a friend to talk to. Of course she had Ron, and he was as close as a close friend could be. But there were times when he just could not do the things that Monique could. Ron was great for just about everything except fashion. She wasn't one to judge, especially not him, but he could afford to vary his wardrobe from time to time. While she knew his options were limited because of the duty of hauling Rufus around in his pockets, there were other styles out there. Maybe she would pick something up for him as a gift. Something to carry Rufus in. Not that it was his birthday or anything, just a gift as a friend. Of course she had to ensure that it was manly too, she couldn't very well have him running around the halls at Middleton High with hip pack. Ron was far too proud and protective of his masculinity to ever don such an accessory.

Speaking of Middleton High, school would be beginning on Monday. It would be their final year. They had finally achieved what for the longest time seemed unthinkable. They would be seniors. They would be at the top of the food chain. After they graduated things like your age and class wouldn't matter in the real world. But for one year in their academic careers, they would be on top of the world. They would be untouchable. And all of the benefits that came with a senior would come with it. She could already taste the delicate delights that would be had at lunch in the upcoming school year.

Kim was passing through the food court as she thought about these things. It was the end of an era as far as she was concerned. After this year she had no idea where they would end up. College of course was the first thing to come to her mind. But which one? And where? Would it even be in this country? Her grades and extracurricular activities meant that she could get into nearly any school in the world if she so desired. But Ron on the other hand… Ron's choices were very limited. Naturally it would be looked upon favorably that he was her sidekick. However his grades were lacking. She wondered if they would wind up being split up. She wondered still if she would sacrifice her own well-being for him instead of being split up. Could she really end up going to a mediocre school just to stay with him? She had already been apart from him for a number of weeks earlier in the year because of the meddling of Camille Leon. But that had been emotionally rather than distance. She feared that if they did wind up across the country from one another, or even across the world, that they would slowly grow apart. They would have new friends, new activities, and of course new classes to attend. Maybe they simply wouldn't have time for each other anymore. And would that mean their missions would also stop?

What was supposed to be a relaxing day at the mall had turned into a worry party for Kim as she neared the escalators to go up to the second floor. Maybe this would be added to the list of things to discuss with Monique. She didn't know if she would be able to talk about it with Ron without letting her emotions guide her judgment one way or another. Monique could provide an objective and intelligent argument for what she could do. That didn't mean she had to agree with or even like what her friend said. However it was always good to get different points of view for important decisions.

Out of the corner of her eye Kim saw a flash of green. She dismissed her initial thoughts for a fraction of a second before giving in and looking up to see what was there. By the time she looked however it was gone.

_I must be going nuts…_

She stepped onto the escalator and let out a sigh. Despite her best intentions she couldn't help but worry about everything that had happened lately. First Dr. Director. Then Gemini and Senor Senior Sr. teaming up. And now the Supreme One again? If she wasn't careful she could end up with a whole alliance of bad guys working together toward whatever twisted goal they had in mind. It had already happened once several months ago when they had tried to get the Tempus Simia idol. But with that object destroyed she knew she didn't have to fear time travel again. Unless there was something else out there similar to it. In her line of work she knew that there was always something else. The hard part was finding out just what it was before it could be used against her or others.

As she neared the top of the escalator she saw green once more out of the corner of her eye. This time she looked immediately. Her heart skipped a beat as she did. Standing in a corner out of sight from most of the general population was none other than Shego. And she wore a cape of black and green on her back.

As Kim's eyes widened she saw the small smirk on the Supreme One's face grow before she stepped out of sight.

Kim was quick to react as she started bounding up the steps of the escalator to reach the top as fast as she could. Luckily there had been no one ahead of her or else getting past them would have been a mission in itself.

She stepped off and bolting in the direction of the corner her foe had been standing near before disappearing. Here however was not empty. The mall was packed full of people going about their business on a Saturday afternoon. Kim dodged and wove through the crowd with graceful skill as she did her best not to bump into people on the way. Others however were not as careful or calculating as her, and did not expect a world-saving teen hero to be hunting her prey through the pack of shoppers. More than once did she unexpectedly receive an elbow to her side or chest as she desperately sought after the one person who had done more to harm her than any other in her time as a hero. And with the pokes and jabs came angry shouts from behind her as confused mall-goers called after her to watch where she was going, or worse. By the time she had reached the corner she found that the Supreme One was gone. It was to be expected. But she ran on still.

Her hawk-like gaze scanned all around her as she ran. So focused was she that she had no idea that she had reached Club Banana. And she definitely did not see her friend coming out to greet her. Not until it was too late anyway.

A loud smack announced the arrival of Monique to the scene. Both girls were sent crashing to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs. The sudden pain and the fact that she was now lying on the floor broke Kim from her tunnel vision and allowed her to look at who she had flattened. Much to both her horror and relief she was that it was Monique. While it was indeed terrible that she had done this to someone so close to her, the silver lining was that it was at least someone who wouldn't hold a grudge or try to file some kind of lawsuit. Knowing the average person they would want to sue her for all kinds of phony physical and emotional damage. And due to her worldwide renown they knew that she would not want anything to sully her image.

"Oh my gosh, Monique!" Kim said as she hurriedly got herself to her feet and went to help her friend up. "I'm so sorry!"

Monique took her hand and allowed herself to be helped up. "Are you trying out for runningback this year, Kim?" she asked as she rubbed her sore backside. "Because if so I think we're going to the state championship."

Well that was a good sign at least. If Monique opened up with a joke she couldn't be too badly hurt.

"I'm so sorry!" Kim repeated. "I didn't even see you there. I was…" she stopped before looking around. "Where is she?"

"Where is who?"

Kim made a full 360 degree circle before looking back at her friend. "Shego. Have you seen Shego?"

"Um, tall chick with green skin? Able to shoot green fire from her hands at will?"

"Yes! Did she come past here?"

"I think I would remember seeing her if she did," Monique laughed. "Kind of hard to miss that circus freak."

"But then…"

Kim's shoulders slumped as she realized that she had failed to catch the Supreme One. But it just didn't make sense. Where did she go? And how would she have been able to escape without causing some sort of scene or panic in the mall? And more importantly, why did she reveal herself here just to run away?

An icy realization hit her as another suspicion came to mind. Maybe it hadn't been the Supreme One at all. Maybe it had never been her in the first place.

She had studied the tape that the "Supreme One" had sent her several times. She had been desperate to find clues or anything else that would help make sense of the situation. There hadn't been much to go on since the message had been so short. And with it being short it made the speech easy to remember.

_But soon I'm going to make your world burn. And I just want to let you know that there's nothing you can do to stop me._

The words were hauntingly familiar. They were just as sick as something that Camille had said to her about herself and Ron. The blonde had told Kim that she got off on watching her world crumble around her when Kim knew it was coming. At the time she had no idea just how close that statement would come to being a reality.

She took a deep breath as she looked into Monique's worried eyes.

"Kim?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

She didn't know whether to be relieved or even more scared. The Supreme One was gone. Hopefully she would be forever. This was simply another mind game. She had learned that Camille would be back in her life when she and Ron visited Italy earlier in the month. And this kind of manipulation fit the blonde's M.O. perfectly.

Kim closed her eyes for a brief second and sighed before looking back to her friend. "So much, Monique. So much, you don't even know."

"Would talking about it help? Or better yet how about you come in and see the new fall collection? I know that's why you had originally come before this whole Shego thing."

"I…" she said, lost for words.

She honestly did not know what to do. Camille was still lurking somewhere in this mall. And she was probably already near an exit by now. She had done her job after all. She had announced her presence to Kim better than any taped message could have. She was in Middleton, and she was looking to make an impact. There was no telling just who would be targeted this time around. Kim figured it would definitely be herself again. And Ron as well. But other than them there was no one else for the heiress to seek revenge against. Ron…

Another realization hit Kim as she realized that the twisted psychopath probably still harbored feelings for Ron. And Ron, bring the good person that he was, wanted to try to help Camille and save her from herself. While the intention was noble, she knew that it would also be used against him in the worst kinds of ways by the blonde. Someone as sick as Camille didn't care about right or wrong. She had no rules or guidelines, she had no moral compass. She was used to getting what she wanted. She had all the money in the world, after all. And with her powers along with her charm, she could get more than any normal person in her position would ever be able to.

"I have to go," Kim finally said.

"What? But you just got here," Monique said disappointedly. "Is this because of Shego? Are you mad at me for getting in the way?"

The words shocked Kim down to her core. Anger was the last thing in the world she felt toward her friend.

"What? No, of course not. I'm not mad at you at all. And I just realized that it wasn't Shego. It was Camille. She's back in town and she's looking to mess with our lives again. Whatever you do, be careful, Monique. There's no telling if she'll go after you too because of how close we are."

"Camille? I thought Ron was going to fix her or something?"

"Well he didn't. No one could fix that freak. Whether he likes it or not I'm putting her behind bars this time. I'm never going to let her hurt anyone the way she hurt him ever again."

Still taken aback by the sudden torrent of information, Monique only nodded hesitantly in response to Kim's declaration.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go and see Ron. I have to warn him," Kim said as she turn and started running away. But before she got too far she stopped and turned back. "And I'm really sorry again about running into you. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You're not the only one in school who can take a bump without breaking," she said with a smile.

Kim flashed a smile of her own. "I know. You're as tough as you are awesome. Take care, I really gotta go."

She turned and began running again. When she wasn't in hot pursuit of a target she did move with more caution however, and the amount of people who were caught in her path was drastically reduced. But she knew she couldn't just leisurely stroll through the mall as if nothing was wrong, because something was very wrong. She had to get to Ron's house now before Camille could. There was no telling what kind of damage could be done if the two of them were left alone again.

They had already had some time alone in Milan. And as a result Ron had wound up handcuffed to a building so that the heiress could escape. He was a good man, but his thoughts were clouded far too easily when it came to pretty girls. Especially a girl who he had dated; a girl who he had slept with. That last thought hurt Kim more than it should have. It hadn't been out of genuine love or affection. It had been because of manipulation and that stupid Attitudinator. She considered a violation more than anything.

As she passed through the food court of the second time in only a few minutes, Kim could only think of one thing as she neared the exit.

_Never again._

XXXXXXXXXX

By his count, it had been eight hundred and twenty six days since the establishment of this complex without any kind of incident at all. And he had been here for every one of those days. It wasn't as if sick days were looked upon kindly by Global Justice. It wasn't as if they were allowed at all. When one joined the elite ranks of the shadowy organization they forfeited the normal luxuries of a nine to five job. To be in Global Justice was to be an agent of the highest quality. One not only had to be in peak physical condition, but they also had to be intelligent. Book smarts weren't enough however. They needed to be able to formulate strategies in an instant and improvise if what they required was not available.

If all of this was true, why was he wasting his time guarding this underground facility?

Agent Adam Baum reclined back in his chair as he looked up at a large screen that took up the space of an entire wall. It was divided into numerous smaller images, each taking up the space of an average television. Each contained the live feed of some information, usually being taken from public security cameras in different locations around the world. Others showed the land right outside of the facility. No one would be getting in without their knowledge. No one would get close enough to even attempt to break in. The skeleton crew which guarded the place may have been lacking in numbers, but their training combined with the equipment and weapons they possessed more than made up for this disadvantage. An army could attempt an assault from the outside and would be annihilated with hidden defensive laser turrets and missile launchers before they could even get a shot off.

He sighed before closing his eyes and letting out a yawn. He looked over to another part of the screen to see data streaming in. He understood the numbers just by looking at them; they had become second nature to him. But his nonchalant attitude didn't go unnoticed by the other agent who was in the room with him.

"Getting bored again?" the other man called out to him.

Agent Baum turned to see his partner for this shift looking at him. Agent Warren Pease was turned away from his own screen as he smiled at Adam.

"Of course I am," Adam said. "We've been off the front lines for almost three years. You ever wonder why we're here?"

"You know why we're here," Warren told him flatly. "Avarice Complex is where G.J. keeps all the weapons and inventions those sick mad scientist freaks come up with. If these things were to fall into the wrong hands the world would be in peril."

Adam rolled his eyes at the response. "Taken straight from the mouth of Dr. Director. If this place was so important you figure they wouldn't have built it in the middle of nowhere guarded by only a handful of agents. I don't care what the brochure said about this being an impenetrable fortress capable of being guarded by only us. It's the principle of the matter. We're doing an important job and we should be recognized for it."

"That's entirely the point. They want this place to be low-profile. If they had some super flashy building it would just be like saying, 'Hey everyone, look how important this place is! Please attack us!'."

"Whatever, man. I still say…"

His sentence was cut short when the data stream on his screen was replaced with the image of a seismograph. While Agent Baum was no geologist, he didn't need any formal training to know that the lines that were appearing in front of him were not a good sign. It didn't take longer for his partner to notice it as well. He would have been alerted anyway now that an alarm had activated.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Warren said as he stood up and walked toward where Adam was sitting.

"I… I'm not sure. By the looks of this graph we should be feeling a massive earthquake. The readings are off the charts. But I don't feel anything. Do you?"

"No," Warren said as he shook his head. Adam couldn't see him doing so, but he wasn't thinking of what he could or couldn't see at the moment. "Something's wrong. We should probably file a report to get the equipment looked at."

"Yeah. But if nothing else today has been a little less mundane than normal. When's the last time we actually thought something bad was going down here anyway?"

"Never?"

"Exactly. And you haven't even been here half as long as me. Mark this day on your calendar, because it's the most excitement you'll ever have while doing this job."

Warren let out a small laugh before nodding his head. "I will. And while I'm at it I might as well…" he trailed off before becoming silent. He turned his head to look back at his station. "Hey, do you hear that?"

Adam turned to see where Warren was looking. It took him a few moments, but he finally heard it too.

"Sounds like a damn power drill on steroids," he said as his blood ran cold.

"But… could that mean someone is actually trying to-"

Before he could finish the large screen on the other side of the room exploded in a shower of sparks and twisted pieces of plastic and metal. Solid rock and concrete accompanied the debris as the tip of a massive spinning drill tore through the wall and caused the entire facility to shake.

The two agents were on the floor as the chaos continued, the brightness of the sparks and the force of the shaking exceeded only by the unbearably loud noise that accompanied them. Adam turned to see Warren screaming something at him, but he couldn't hear a word of it. It was as if his mouth was moving but no words were coming out. For all of their skill and training they were completely unprepared for the sight that was coming through the wall.

A colossal treaded machine now stood in the large room, its drill and front half taking up most of the space in it. It reeked of diesel fuel and exhaust fumes, the latter of which were beginning to cloud the room with black smog. The Global Justice agents were coughing from not only this, but the rock and concrete dust that were now thick in the air. They covered their mouths and noses with their hands and shirts to try and stave off the attack on their breathing. Combined with their obscured vision they probably would not have been able to fight back even if they were properly armed to deal with the threat.

The drill ceased its deafening noise and peace began to make its return to the control room. But soon another noise was heard as an automatic door below the drill opened up and lowered down to the floor like a massive metal ramp. Figures could be seen descending down and into the chamber.

The first out was a large man, who as he got closer appeared to be in a purple and white jumpsuit and a gasmask. Soon details became more apparent, and the brown hair and eye patch were unmistakable signs as to who it could be. Every Global Justice agent knew who this was. Gemini was their mortal enemy after all. He and his organization were a mockery of everything they stood for and defended.

Adam could only cough as he looked up at the man and his bionic hand. Gemini looked down at him coldly before speaking.

"I am here to liberate the property you have stolen," he said through the gasmask. His voice sounded deep and distorted, but there was no mistaking the uncaring tone of it. "I believe you have some things which belong to my associate."

Adam looked behind him to see a yellow-skinned man clad in an obsidian-colored helmet. He too wore a gasmask, but said nothing. Adam looked back up at Gemini who was still holding his metal fist in front of him.

"You're weak and your methods are outdated. That is why I was able to breach your security so easily, and that is why I will leave with every piece of technology in this facility. The world's salvation rests with me alone."

Before Agent Baum could respond he was struck with the bionic hand of Gemini, knocking him out cold. The same fate was dealt to Agent Pease before Gemini turned back to see his own agents still filing off of his mole machine.

"Let us begin," he said as he walked to join his men.

Professor Dementor turned join Gemini as they began making their way deeper into the complex.

Avarice Complex was comparable to an iceberg. Only the very tip of it was visible on the surface. Once inside the facility descended several stories below ground, each floor painstakingly carved from the bedrock itself by massive excavator machines. The multi-million dollar facility was state of the art when it came to defending external threats from the surface, but clearly no one in Global Justice had expected an assault from under the earth itself. The immense machine Gemini possessed was not only fully capable of getting them in, but it had enough storage space in it to haul away a great deal of the inventions that were housed in the building.

Gemini flexed his weaponized hand as he did so often when he felt a number of different emotions. Whether they be anger, anxiety or excitement, the feeling he got when he knew that his ability to kill was only a brain impulse away made him feel at ease.

He was expecting to hear back from the agents who went ahead to scout at any moment. Gamma and Delta were experienced soldiers who would be able to deal with any threats they found further down in the facility. Gamma in fact would probably refuse to report back before taking out any resistance she found herself. Her stubborn pride was one of the reasons she had been promoted as far as she had. She was next in line for Beta's spot if his newest Beta failed him. He still remembered disposing of his previous Beta during the whole Ron Factor debacle.

Delta on the other hand was cold and calculating, never taking an unnecessary risk without analyzing the options and data available to him thoroughly. In a way he reminded Gemini of himself, which was in part the reason he had advanced as far as he had. Being one of the top four agents in the W.E.E. was no small accomplishment despite the frequency of replacements in agency personnel.

Gemini smiled as he mentally corrected himself. It was still the top three. The position of Agent Alpha had not been filled in years, but that would soon change.

As he and his entourage strode through the corridors he received word from Gamma that her floor was clear. There had only been one agent down there and he had been too busy with the headphones on his ears to even hear any of the commotion from the floor above him. In other words he had been easy prey for the ambitious woman. He wasn't given a chance to explain why he had not reacted to the violent shaking before Gamma had dispatched him.

When she was finally in sight she bowed her head in respect to her leader. The Worldwide Evil Empire was not a military organization and as such they did not salute. Gemini was their leader however, and he not only deserved their respect, he demanded it.

"What news from Delta?" he asked as she fell in line to walk at his left side, a full step behind him.

"He is still working on breaching the door to the final floor," she said emotionlessly.

"Global Justice headquarters is probably already aware of our attack. Does he not know that time is of the essence?"

"Yes, Gemini. However he said that it is not important that he does it quickly, only that he does it properly."

Gemini let out a small, almost silent growl as he considered her response. Of course Delta would say something like that. He wasn't the type to just attach an explosive to a door and run for cover. He had to examine it for security measures, and then see if there was a way to bypass them. He also had to be sure that any bomb that he may use would be strong enough to blow the door, but not so powerful that it would risk his life or the structural integrity of the surrounding area. And all of this was without even considering any damage that might be done to the machines and electronics that were behind the door, the very reason they had come here today.

"If the door is locked then they are aware of our attack," Gemini said.

Gamma wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question. But the answer was likely the same to both. "Yes, Gemini," she answered.

It took only another minute to descend down to the lowest floor of Avarice Complex. The group had split up with Gamma leading a team down the freight elevator. The entrance to the bottom floor would most assuredly be locked once the elevator reached there, so they would simply have to wait for whatever resistance was inside to be taken care of.

Gemini, Dementor and the rest headed down a flight of stairs to reach the door which Delta was busy working with. The third of Gemini's elite agents had not bothered to stand up and bow his head when his leader arrived. Instead he continued to kneel beside the door with a handheld electronic device pressed against a keypad next to the door.

"Progress," Gemini stated flatly.

"The door will be open soon. I estimate no more than another minute. However I have been able to access the intercom system. We can broadcast into the room at your command."

"Why is it taking so long?"

Delta was silent for more than just a moment before he responded. "This system was not designed by amateurs. I would wager that it is one of the most sophisticated security systems in the world. The fact that Professor Dementor provided this code breaking device to assist us is making all the difference right now."

Gemini unconsciously began flexing his metal fingers again. "Very well. Patch me through to the occupants of the room."

"Yes, Gemini," Delta responded. "You are in."

Gemini stood tall and proud despite the fact that no one could see him. At least not to his knowledge. For all he knew there was a security camera hidden somewhere near the door that was watching them right now. If that was the case then whoever was on the other side was witnessing a terrifying sight as a phalanx of purple and white stood ready to storm the final bastion of defense.

"If you are unaware of the situation by this point, let me make this perfectly clear to you," Gemini said making no attempt to hide the forcefulness in his voice. "I am Gemini. This facility is now in the hands of the Worldwide Evil Empire. You are alone. Your compatriots have been neutralized. No help will reach you in time to save you. Your only chance for survival lies with me and doing as I command. You will surrender or you will be terminated. You have only mere moments to decide on your fate."

As if on cue a light on the code breaker lit up green. Delta turned around, his masked face offering a small triumphant grin. "The way is open," he said calmly.

Gemini stood back as a few of the large meaty men took positions in front of him next to the door. It would do him, his organization and his ultimate goal no good if he were to go in first and was shot dead by the desperate defenders.

The door finally slid open and the first of the W.E.E. agents swarmed in with energy staffs and storm shields drawn, ready to smash aside the resistance inside. They however found nothing of the sort. Aside from the technology housed inside, the only other thing they saw was a single Global Justice agent standing in the center of the room with his hands on top of his head. He was quickly secured in handcuffs by the grunt agents of Gemini. Only after a thorough search of the place did Gemini, Dementor and the rest enter.

What they saw both shocked and amazed both. Even though they knew what they were expecting to find, seeing it was a lot different than imagining it. All around the room were inventions that had been created by various super villains. In a cage made of laser bars the head of a single Bebe robot sat. A glass display case held a Truth Ray. A Bond-o Ball was held in a similar case. A lone Spinning Top of Doom sat immobile off in a corner. And a cryogenic tank held the last Bonnie clone that had escaped destruction at the hands of a soda-wielding Kim Possible before being rounded up by Global Justice agents. Many other inventions were there as well, ready to be plundered for the plans of Gemini.

But for Dementor it was a single invention that grabbed his attention. It was one that had been wrongfully taken from him. It had been Kim Possible who had stolen it, and then it was given to his most hated rival, Dr. Drakken. The Transportulator sat in a display case by itself. It wasn't a centerpiece like the Spinning Top may have been, nor was it alarmingly creepy and attention-drawing like the Bonnie clone. But for him it was the most important invention in the room. He rushed up to it and removed the glass top from the podium it sat on. He picked it up lovingly like a father would a newborn baby.

"My Transportulator…" he said softly. "How I have missed you."

By the time he returned his attention to the rest of the room he saw that the door to the freight elevator was open. Agents were busy loading the pieces of equipment in for the first trip up to the second floor where they had come in. Gemini, Beta, Gamma and Delta looked on as the large muscle-bound agents worked. It didn't surprise Dementor. Standing there watching was the cream of the crop. They were the most capable agents. The rest were just muscle. They were expendable. One might even think of them as meat-shields if the situation ever arose. With his invention cradled in his arms he walked over to them.

"And preparations for my dear sister have been finalized?" Gemini asked.

"Yes, Gemini," the man wearing the Greek letter Beta on his chest answered. "She is ready to be moved. It shouldn't be long given the information that Global Justice should have soon."

"Good. Once we're done here we will move on to phase two of the plan."

"Yes, Gemini," Beta said before bowing and moving to oversee the operation.

While Gamma and Delta continued to observe, Gemini turned to see Dementor with his invention in his arms. "Tell me, professor. Does it still work?"

Dementor looked down at his creation before looking back to his employer. "I see no damage to the casing. I vould assume it vorks properly."

"There is no reason for us to remain here. The operation is in the hands of Beta now. He will not fail me if he values his life. After he finishes his inventory of what is here we will depart and begin the next phase."

"And vhat is the next phase? Vhat is the purpose of all of these inventions?"

Gemini smiled as he looked on. "Two different questions, professor. The next phase is the destruction of Global Justice."

"And the other question?"

"To save the world, of course."

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Ron yawned as he lay back on the couch. Even with his eyes closed and only a single hand on the controller he was still smashing zombies like a professional. When he looked back at the screen he saw that he had lost no health and that he was as doing as well as he had been before. He figured that after playing the game for so long he literally could play Zombie Mayhem with his eyes closed. A frown crossed his face when he realized he didn't know whether to be sad or proud about that.

But the fact remained that he was bored. Normally a Saturday afternoon would be spent hanging out with Kim. On the rare occasion that they weren't together he would be with Felix, probably playing the aforementioned video game. But he was busy on this particular Saturday. And with Kim hanging out at the mall with Monique, Ron was left alone. His frown deepened when he realized that this was definitely something to be sad about. When did his life turn into this? When had he become content with having only two friends to spend time with? Rufus was good for what he could do, but he could not take the place of a human friend. He looked over to the other side of the couch to see the naked mole rat sleeping. He usually did this unless he was eating or on a mission.

Ron focused his attention back on the game and began to slay more zombies. It was so monotonous. The mindless repetition might even be considered relaxing if he could drown out the screams and shrieks the undead creatures made when they were eviscerated. He briefly wondered if he should log onto his old Everlot account to see if he could find a way to waste some time there. That was when he heard his doorbell ring.

He set his controller down and sluggishly got up from the couch to begin walking to the front door. He was unintentionally taking his time doing so, and he became aware of this when he heard the doorbell ring once again.

"I'm coming!" he said, not sure if the person on the other side would even hear him.

He opened the door to find the last person he expected to see today, at least at this hour.

"Kim?" he asked.

Without saying a word Kim stepped inside and moved into the living room. She took a seat on the couch next to where he had been sitting only seconds earlier. He followed in after her and reclaimed his own spot on the couch. He looked at her strangely and saw that she was giving him a look of her own.

"Kim?" he repeated.

"Where is she?" Kim asked.

Ron blinked a couple of times before responding. "Where is who?"

"Camille."

"Um, I don't know. If I did don't you think we'd go after her?"

"So wait, she wasn't here?"

Ron looked over her shoulder at the sleeping form of Rufus. "Unless she got a major hardware upgrade and can now transform into hairless rodents, I don't think I've seen her today."

"Yeah, I would have thought the same thing until around a half hour ago…" she said grudgingly.

"Kim?" he said a third time.

"She's back, you know."

"We knew she was back. We saw her in Milan. I was there, remember?"

"No, Ron. She's back in Middleton. I ran into her at the mall."

"Really? I would think that would be big news. It's not every day that a celebrity graces the halls of our local mall."

"Not every day one comes to our school too, but she did. Anyway that's not the point. It wasn't _her_ at the mall. She was using a disguise. Or transformation. Or whatever it is you want to call it. But she didn't look like Camille."

"Then how did you know it was her?"

"Because it's not every day you see the Supreme One while you're going up an escalator, only for her to run away without a trace."

Ron understood now. The same cold realization that had dawned on Kim now came to him as well. It had never been the Supreme One. It was Camille. And she was bold as she had ever been.

"Why do you think she's here?" he wondered.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I could make a few guesses. First and foremost is revenge. A lot of people here contributed to ruining her plans in the spring. And of course even after that Bonnie played a big role in her needing to go to summer school in order to graduate."

"Yeah. I'm really amazed Bonnie was able to pull that off. But apparently if enough evidence is presented to the school board about how much class you cut it doesn't matter how rich or famous you are."

"Right. So there's the revenge factor."

"What other reasons did you come up with?"

She didn't answer right away. She didn't know how she wanted to tell him. But she figured that it might as well be as open and direct as possible. Their new motto of keeping no secrets from each other applied to the uncomfortable situations too.

"I think she might be here for you too," she finally said. "It really did seem like she had some feelings for you near the end. It's why she helped save your life when you were under the influence of the Attitudinator. Maybe she really does still want you, for better or for worse. And not in a creepy marriage way, I know that sounded awkward. I just mean like, for a good reason or a bad one. Know what I mean?"

"I get it. But what could the 'or worse' be?"

"Well, she knows that you want to save her from being a villain. She knows you're a good guy and could be manipulated into doing some… bad things. Like before."

"You know I wouldn't fall for her tricks again," he said defensively. "You're not the only one who's learned from spring. I would never let her get between us again."

"I know, I didn't mean it like that. I just mean… well… I don't know exactly. But there's so much stuff going down right now and we don't know what exactly is going on. There's Gemini, Dr. Director, Senior, and now Camille. They've all got to be connected somehow."

"But how? Don't you remember that Camille hates Senior? It's why she and Dr. Drakken blew up his island lair."

"I remember," she said as she closed her eyes and fell back against the back of the couch. Her head rested on top of it as she continued. "I really don't know what's going on. Maybe they're working independently on different plans and just happen to be hitting us at the same time."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"What?" she asked as she moved to look at him. "When has that ever happened before?"

"Oh… I, uh, I don't know. I just thought it sounded cool and ominous."

Kim blew a few loose strands of hair from her face. "Ominous, yes. Cool, definitely not. The last thing we need is something 'cool' like that in our lives."

The tell-tale beeping of Kim's Kimmunicator sounded as they continued chatting. She fished it from her pocket and answered to see Wade's face appear on the screen.

"Go, Wade," she said.

"Good news, Kim. I think I finally found a solid lead on the Seniors."

"Really? That's wonderful. What's the sitch?"

"I found a small island that's a part of the Canary Islands that had been recently purchased. I'm talking like, June. And what had happened right before June?"

"The Senior's lair was destroyed and he was captured by Drakken," Kim smiled.

"Right. So it stands to reason he probably wouldn't have been able to have a chance to make a new purchase until sometime after he was rescued and slipped under the radar again. Thus, the new purchase in June."

"Who made the purchase according to the official documents?"

"A man named Jeb Raltar. I did some cross-referencing in a number of different databases and found that no such person exists. And they definitely didn't purchase a multi-million dollar island."

"Then it's a safe bet that Mr. Jeb Raltar is an alias for Senior."

"I'd say it's a 99.9% guarantee," Wade said proudly.

"Then we've finally got our first lead for the whole Dr. Director situation. Can you set us up with a ride?"

"Already on it. And as usual Global Justice isn't interested in being your personal taxi. They broke off communications as soon as they saw my face."

"They seem pretty abrasive when Betty isn't around…" Kim muttered.

"Yeah. I'm sure they'd be interested if they knew it was about Senior. But hey, what can you do, right?"

"Right. We'll just have to show them what a few amateurs can do."

"Sounds good. I've already set you up with a ride at Middleton Airport. Your car should be arriving within the hour."

"Thanks Wade. You're the best," she smiled.

"No problem. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do."

Kim ended the communication and turned to look at Ron. He had been listening intently despite not saying a word during the conversation.

"Ready for a long flight?" she asked.

"Hey, I've got nothing better to do on this Saturday afternoon. We'll be back in time for school on Monday though, right?"

Kim let out a laugh at the question. "Since when are you worried about missing school? I thought you would look for any excuse to miss class."

"Yeah well this is different. It's the first day after all. And first days are a breeze. Except for that one teacher who gives you an assignment. So why waste a sick day on that?"

"Whatever," she said with a smile as she rolled her eyes. "Let's get going."

"Right behind ya, KP."

The two teens bolted from the couch to prepare for their trip to the Canary Islands. Each hoped that they would get more information than the last time they paid a visit to Senior's lair. The fate of Dr. Director, and maybe the entire world hung in the balance.


	6. Firsts and Seconds

Authors Note: Thanks to those who remembered and cared. I realize not posting anything for three months does kind of kill interest. Such is life.

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_"It's déjà vu all over again."_

_~Yogi Berra_

XXXXXXXXXX

It was amazing how different a ten hour flight could be when two people's minds were in completely different places.

For Kim ten hours dragged on like ten years. Her mind was everywhere, her thoughts scattered. So much had occurred since Milan, even if it did not seem like much. It was like it was April and May again, the first time they had encountered a certain billionaire celebrity heiress. There were once again threats to all aspects of her life. On one level was the amateur crime fighting part of her life. The closest thing she had to a mentor had been kidnapped by her evil and psychotic twin brother. Not only that, but a very powerful and bored billionaire was allied with him. She only hoped that her trip to Senior's newest lair would yield promising leads to the location of Dr. Director.

And at the same time her personal life was once more under attack. The reemergence of Camille Leon in the United States meant that she was on the brink of causing more strife in her and Ron's lives. With their senior year of high school starting up in less than two days, Kim knew that she would have to be on the lookout for any new students. She refused to be fooled again by a seemingly friendly newcomer whispering suggestions into Ron's ear in an attempt to manipulate him and destroy the close bond of friendship that the two teen heroes shared. Kim was also concerned because this would not be Camille's first time at Middleton High School. The blonde knew the building inside and out from her time spent there before. Not only that, but she knew the people as well; both students and faculty. Kim would be sure to keep an eye on new faces to see if they seemed over-familiar with the place.

That was when another thought came to her mind. There was an entire class of freshmen coming this year. They would all be new faces. And Kim couldn't very well keep an eye on the entire class. Her optimistic mindset was quickly quelled when the realization hit her. Keeping her guard up was still an absolute must though. Any new students who seemed to be getting a little too close to Ron would definitely be watched closely. She vowed that there would not be another "Jill Ishus" incident.

She looked over to her sleeping best friend. Of course sleep had come a lot easier for him. Even with the dim humming that sounded within the belly of the cargo plane he was still able to sleep peacefully. It was just part of what made Ron Stoppable himself. Despite the turmoil that was all around their lives he still managed to find a way to avoid the worst of its effects when it came to the anxiety and worry it brought. At least it was what she assumed when she looked at him. In reality she knew nothing about the thoughts that were going on in his mind. Even with their honesty policy he wasn't about to share every personal thought with her. Of course he was entitled to his privacy, just as she was. She wondered if he was being just as affected as she was but just not showing it. In all honesty it wouldn't surprise her if that was in fact the case. It would be like him to not want to burden her with his problems when she had plenty of her own to deal with. He truly was a hero just like she was, even if his attempts at heroism were sometimes misguided or misplaced. In the end he had nothing but pure intentions.

He had been sleeping for the past several hours. Kim on the other hand had been awake for the past several hours, only managing to get a couple hours of sleep before that. She recalled the last time they had been in this position. They had been in a cargo plane en route to Europe in search of their target. Only the last time it had been Camille in Milan. They had been searching for a needle in a haystack rather than knowing the location of a villain's lair. This time things would be different. She knew they would. They just had to be.

Soon the same routine as last time began to take place. Once they were alerted by the pilot that they were nearing the drop zone she woke Ron. After shaking off his weariness he was able to stand and prepare for the jump. He and Kim helped to prepare each other, both of them checking and rechecking each other as well as themselves to make sure that their harnesses were properly attached and that they had everything they needed. There could be no going back if they left anything on the plane.

With her parachute and helmet secure, Kim tore open the side cargo hatch on the plane and let the whipping wind send her ponytail flying in all directions. She placed her protective goggles over her eyes and turned back to Ron.

"Ready?" she yelled so that she could be heard over the wind.

Ron gave her a thumbs up and a smile in response, knowing that it was a better answer in the given situation than yelling back at her.

Without wasting another moment she leapt out of the plane and began to freefall down to the island below her. Looking down she could see little below her, the darkness obscured nearly everything, water included. The pale moonlight only offered enough illumination so that she could barely make out the edges of the island that the lair was upon. However it didn't matter in the end, because there was one source of light that was like a beacon calling out to her. Like the Pharos of Alexandria it guided her as she fell to the ground, preventing her from becoming wrecked on the rocks like its ancient predecessor had. Senior's lair was lit much the way she remembered it the very first time she and Ron had come to lecture him about siphoning the power away from the rest of Europe. There would be no losing her way as long as she could see it.

After a set amount of time she pulled the cord on her parachute and was soon drifting slowly to the ground. As she grew nearer she could see the barbed wire that topped the large concrete wall which surrounded the lair. A little skillful guiding meant that she was able to get inside of the wall, thus eliminating at least one obstacle in their mission. She only hoped that Ron was able to do the same and that he wouldn't be stuck on the outside alone. She doubted that she would have to fear for his safety, but there was no question that it would hinder their advance. However she was not overly concerned. Ron had done this just about as many times as she had. He had more than once proven himself to be completely competent and capable of successful missions without her. She remembered him regaling her with his tales of recovering an aurora orchid to save her very existence when she was sprayed with a gas by Dr. Drakken that caused her to slowly vanish when embarrassed.

Regardless of what any person of publication may have said, Kim knew that Ron was just as much responsible for her survival in this twisted world of heroes and villains as she was for his. Months earlier she had saved his life, just as he had saved hers months before that. And she had no doubt in her mind that in the future, perhaps even the very near future, that they would be responsible for saving one another once more.

When she landed she quickly removed her parachute and other equipment. She turned around and smiled to see Ron there around twenty yards away from her doing the same. In only a matter of seconds the two teens were reunited.

"Alright," he whispered. "Game plan?"

Kim looked up at the large new lair that belonged to Senior. A small smirk graced her lips. "The usual?" she asked as she pulled out her grappling gun hairdryer.

Ron mimicked her actions a moment later and was soon aiming his up towards the roof. "Lead the way, KP."

The pair was soon speeding up to the top of the lair. It took only seconds for the grappling guns to catch up with their projectiles and the teens brought themselves up to stand on the roof. Their boots thudded quietly on the concrete as they raced over to where the large ventilation shaft entrance stood. Upon arriving there Kim looked at it quizzically.

"It looks… loose," she said.

"Loose?"

"Yeah, look at it," she said as she crouched down to get a closer look. "Usually I have to cut through it with laser lipstick. But look."

Kim simply removed the cover and it showed that the way in was clear.

"Yeah, that's kinda odd," Ron agreed as he examined it as well. "Maybe the workers just got lazy at the end."

"That, or Senior knew we were coming."

"If he knew we were coming wouldn't he have made sure that his lair was like, extra protected?"

"Not if it's a trap," she said grimly.

"But then do you think he would know that we would know it's a trap? I mean we've been fighting him for years now."

"A classic trap-trap," Kim said as she looked into Ron's eyes with a smile.

"I think I'm rubbing off on you more than you know," he joked. "Pretty soon you'll be the one losing your pants."

Kim was silent for a few seconds before shaking her head clear of the thought. "You know, usually it's kind of funny when it happens to you. But now I just imagined it happening to myself, and you know what? It sounds really uncomfortable. And embarrassing."

"Welcome to my world."

"In any case, we should be prepared for the very real possibility that it is a trap. And that means not going in the way he invited us to."

"And what other ways are there?"

Kim thought it over for a moment before finally looking back at him. "The place has windows, right?"

"Right. But what if Senior anticipated us not wanting to go through the vents because we knew it was a trap-trap and instead he rigged the windows to be electric or something?"

"Ron, you're overthinking it."

"Me? Thinking too much?" he asked amusedly. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

She smiled as she stared back down at the open ventilation shaft. "But in all seriousness we do need a plan. Any ideas other than the vent and the windows?"

"This is why we need to carry some explosives. We could just blow a hole right in the wall and walk in. Think Wade knows how to work with C4?"

"I certainly hope a boy his age doesn't…" she frowned. "But him being the super genius that he is, I'm sure he knows about how to use it in theory. But I'm not about to be the one who asks him to put that knowledge to real life use."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So, window it is?"

"Window it is," she confirmed.

They once again brought their grappling guns out and fired them to secure their grip on the roof. Once they were sure that the guns grips were tight they began to scale down the side of the lair until they reached the surface below. Once there Kim brought her laser lipstick from one of her many pockets and began her work on the window.

It took around a minute of work to slice a hole big enough for the two of them to fit through. The large piece of glass that was cut from the rest of the window fell inward and onto the floor of the lair, but the substance had been designed to be resilient and did not shatter upon impact. Kim was grateful for this, as she did not want to give Senior any more warning than necessary that they were inside. But then again if it was a trap like she hypothesized then it really did not matter how careful or sneaky she was at this point. One way or another they would soon meet face to face. She wouldn't have it any other way.

She and Ron quickly entered through the hole in the window and took in the room around them. Much like Senior's first lair, a catwalk stood all around the room above them supported by steel pillars. Each of the three walls they had not come in through had an automatic metal door both above and below the catwalk, each leading to another room that Kim was unfamiliar with. Several large screens dotted the walls, though they were all inactive and blank at the moment. And at the center of the room was a table big enough to fit perhaps a dozen people comfortably, but she could not see a reason for this as it would only ever be Senior and Junior here. That was unless that they played host to Gemini and who knows what other villainous associates.

As Kim continued to gaze around the room she moved to stand closer to Ron. "It's too quiet," she commented.

Ron saw the frown on her face and soon formed one of his own. "But isn't quiet a good thing? Quiet means we're not being shot by automatic laser turrets. Or worse."

"It only helps to confirm the trap theory."

"Or maybe it disproves the trap theory by showing that he wasn't prepared for us at all," he countered. "See, you gotta look at the positive side of things like I do. Quiet is good. Quiet means we're still alive."

"I still don't like it. Where is Senior? Or Junior for that matter?"

"Junior isn't into the whole villain thing, remember? He probably doesn't hang around here too much anymore, especially if there's an evil plan in motion."

"True. But then who shares the lair with him? I can't imagine Senior living here all alone."

"Then you would be quite mistaken," a voice from above them said.

Kim and Ron both looked up to see Senior standing on the catwalk to their left. He leaned heavily on his cane as he looked down at the teenage twosome.

"You see, my son has moved on from villainous activities like Mr. Stoppable said. He has gone on to pursue his true calling, his true dream, as an international teen sensation."

"What happened to the 'pop' part?" Kim asked. "And why don't you sound more upset about this? Wasn't Junior supposed to be the heir to your empire?"

"Things change, Ms. Possible," Senior said. "In more ways than one, I might add."

"Then what, you're just doing this for Gemini then? Nothing left to pass onto your family so you're teaming up with that sick freak?"

"Gemini… ah," Senior said thoughtfully. "You already know that much then. But I assure you, Ms. Possible, that you will not be leaving this place alive to inform Global Justice of my activities or my location." Senior then produced a small remote control from his pocket. "I believe it is time for me to bid you farewell… permanently."

With the press of a button the floor from underneath Kim and Ron began to slowly move back and into the wall. It quickly became apparent that beneath a section of the floor was a large tank of water. Neither had any idea what was in there, but it did not take them long to begin running for stable ground. Both teens were able to run off to the side of the moving floor before they had run out of dry land to stand on. When they looked back they saw the tank swarming with piranha.

"I was able to secure a large supply of piranha for my new lair," Senior said proudly. "Is it not wonderful?"

"Yeah, great job there," Ron scoffed. "We didn't fall into the pool. Do you just expect us to jump in now because you'll ask nicely?"

"Ask? A true villain never asks the hero to assist him unless it is during a speech in which the former desires the latter to join him in his evil quest," Senior explained. "No, I believe you will have no choice in the matter."

Senior pressed a second button on the remote. A low rumbling sound filled the room, one all too familiar to the two teens. The sound of Senior's evil laughter soon joined it.

"I believe the two of you are familiar with Spinning Tops of Doom."

The large doorways on three sides of the room opened up to reveal a trio of spinning machines. The destructive mechanisms entered and were soon on a collision course for Kim and Ron.

"I would love to stay and watch your demise, but as you know this is poor villain form. I will leave you to the machines and assume that all goes according to plan. Good evening, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable."

Kim was too focused on the Spinning Tops of Doom to watch as Senior exited through one of the doors next to the catwalk. Right now her only concern was her and Ron's survival.

"Oh I get it now," Ron said. "He expects us to jump in the water ourselves to avoid getting hit by the tops. Clever move on his part. I like his style. Making us do the work for him."

"Ron, not now," Kim growled. "Kinda have a life or death situation looming right here. Not the time to be admiring the bad guy."

"Right," he said as his voice took a more serious tone. "So, plan?"

"Get on the catwalk," she said as she pointed to where Senior had left. "And then we go after him. We ignore the tops completely."

"What about the fish?"

"What?"

"The fish," he said again. "Won't the tops just fall into the water and mess the fish up pretty bad?"

"I…" she said when she was suddenly at a loss for words. She really hadn't been thinking about the piranha at a time like this.

"There's gotta be a button to stop the Tops or at least close the floor, right?"

"I… guess?"

"Come on, Kim. The fish aren't the evil ones. It's not their fault if they want to savagely devour our flesh. It's their nature."

"Okay okay, I get it," she sighed. "You grapple up to the catwalk and look for a button. I'll run distraction duty for the Tops."

"Isn't that usually my job?"

"Yeah. But I'm not about to put you on Spinning Top of Doom duty when I'm much more qualified to handle it. I'm the cheer squad captain, remember?"

"Right," Ron said as he looked at the three devices coming steadily closer to them. "But I think we should really stop talking right about now. Those things are getting a little too close for comfort."

"Then go. I've got this."

"I know you do," he smiled.

Without saying another word Ron shot his grappling gun up to the catwalk. When it was secure he pressed the release button to pull himself up. In a matter of seconds he was on the catwalk looking for a button to close the floor lid to the piranha tank.

Kim imitated his actions up until the point where she landed on the catwalk. Instead of following his lead, she ended up back on the floor behind the tops. She smiled grimly as she saw the machines turn around and start to come at her once more.

She stood there eagerly awaiting them to get close enough so that she could repeat the process again. It wasn't the most complicated of maneuvers, nor was it the most skillful. But she could do it over and over again flawlessly, something that she was not sure that Ron was capable of. With his luck he would end up losing his pants in some freak grapple accident and be left sitting on the floor to be turned into Spinning Top of Doom paste. No, this would be handled by her. She could take no risks even if he typically was the distraction portion of the team.

Meanwhile Ron had finally found a control box mounted on the wall. He opened up the door and found a number of buttons inside. All of them were different colors and he had no idea where to start. So he just decided to take it from the top. As soon as he pressed the black button another sudden noise filled the room. He looked around to see that the large screens on the room had come to life. Each had a different picture on it. Some even had television shows broadcasting. But as soon as it had happened he realized that it had not been the correct button.

Pressing the white one below it he was horrified to discover that the ceiling lights had been turned off. Only the glow of the wall-mounted screens still lit the room. And that was definitely not good news for Kim who needed the light to evade the machines that were trying to kill her.

"No, bad lights!" Ron shouted in panic. He quickly pressed the button again to turn them back on. "Whew," he sighed in relief.

But his partner below was not feeling as relieved as he was. "Knock it off, Ron!" he heard her shout.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled, not even sure if she would hear him.

He then pressed the third button, this time a red one. At first he thought that nothing had happened. But then he looked back to see that the floor was reemerging from the wall and beginning to cover the piranha tank. A sense of triumph filled his body as he realized he had succeeded.

"Okay, Kim!" he yelled down to her as he learned over the railing on the catwalk. "Time to go!"

Kim looked back to see the floor finish covering the pool which they were supposed to fall into. Wasting no time she shot her grappling gun back up to the catwalk, but this time pulled herself completely up to join Ron.

She straightened herself up and looked into Ron's eyes. "That was the worst time to turn the lights off ever. Of all time."

"Not my fault. Someone didn't label what the buttons did."

"Whatever," she grunted. "Let's go find Senior now."

"Right."

Kim and Ron dashed through the door which Senior had gone. The straight corridor soon turned into stairs that descended down a couple of flights. They soon found themselves in an underground cavern. The scent of seawater filled their nostrils.

"Where did he go?" Ron asked.

Kim walked around and saw a thick rope ending in a loop lying on a small wooden dock. Next to it was water which led out into the darkness of the open ocean.

"A secret underground grotto with a speedboat for escapes," she said as she glared over in Ron's direction.

"What? I said that like three years ago," he said defensively. "I think we should have come to expect this kind of thing by now. I didn't see you getting upset about the Spinning Tops of Doom."

Kim sighed as she looked forlornly out of the cavern where Senior had made his escape. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just… frustrated at the situation. You were an easy target to take those frustrations out on. I'm sorry."

"No big, KP," he smiled.

"Well, Senior's gone now. We should probably look into the files on his computer to see if we can find any leads."

"Sounds good."

Backtracking and moving back inside the lair, it took a few minutes for Kim to find a computer terminal that looked like a promising lead. But when she finally found one she whipped out her Kimmunicator and got a hold of Wade.

"What's up?" her tech guru said.

"I need you to do some kind of scan on Senior's computer. See if you can find any files about the W.E.E., Gemini or Dr. Director."

"Sure. Plug me in and I'll run a search."

Kim did as she was asked and soon Wade was running a program that would scan the entire system for the terms Kim desired. After a couple minutes of searching Wade finally reappeared on the screen.

"Kim, I got something."

"What is it? A clue about where they took Dr. Director?"

"Not just a clue," Wade smiled. "I got the location of the W.E.E. base itself."

"You're kidding!" she said happily. "That's wonderful!"

"Definitely. I'm going to send it to G.J. right now. Unless you want to do it yourself?"

"Of course not. I'm not some stuck up glory hog like Will Du. I only want what's best for Dr. Director. So yes, send it to them. Maybe they'll make some progress by the time we get back to the States."

"Sounds good. And I already have a boat on its way right now to pick you guys up. It will then take you to another island close by that has an airfield. You'll be able to get a ride home in a few hours."

"Thanks, Wade. We'd be completely helpless without you."

"Thanks. Always feels nice to be appreciated. I'll go inform G.J. right now. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do."

Wade's face vanished leaving the pair of teen heroes alone once more.

"So now what?" Ron asked.

"I guess now we just wait."

The two walked around the lair for about half an hour. They idly chatted about a number of different things ranging from the mission to the upcoming school year. But eventually Kim asked a question which had been bugging her the more she had thought about it.

"Did this all seem a little too easy to you?" she wondered.

"Easy? You call that easy?"

"Well not for most people. But for our standards, yes."

"I don't see what's so easy about piranhas and Spinning Tops of Doom."

"If Senior thought we were going to lose then why did he run away as soon as he left?"

"I don't know. Playing the odds maybe? I mean, come on Kim. We always win. When's the last time that Senior succeeded in killing us?"

"I hope that was rhetorical."

"Yeah yeah, school word. I'm off the clock until Monday," Ron said dismissively. "But really. It's probably in his evil handbook that he has to gloat and act like he's going to win. But deep down he knew he was going to lose and so he just went ahead and escaped. Makes sense if you ask me."

"I agree, in theory," Kim said thoughtfully. "But still. I just don't like it."

"Take a win wherever you can get it, that's what I say. If things are as bad as you say we need all the wins we can get."

"I guess…"

"Come on, Kimbo. Cheer up. We found Dr. Director, right? Let G.J. handle it. And soon things will be back to normal."

She did not feel like arguing that point. Things would not soon be back to normal. In fact things would soon only begin to get worse. Normally Kim did not dread going back to school. In this way she was unlike most other teenagers. She did not hate having to go to classes. She rather enjoyed them. They helped to stimulate her mind while cheerleading helped to keep her in good mission shape. But this year was different.

This year was the return of Camille. And as much of an optimist she may have been, she just could not help but feel like things were about to get much, much worse.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gazing into the mirror, the face still looked unfamiliar on her. But she knew she could play the role so well. She had been playing different roles for most of her life. This one was in familiar territory, yet completely uncharted at the same time. Either way she knew she would succeed. Things had come too far for her to fail now. Not when things were about to get good again.

Camille Leon morphed her face back to its natural form. Her bleached hair hung down lazily, framing her tanned face as she stared at herself. She could hardly recognize the girl that stared back without makeup on. It had been ages since she did not put on her eyeliner, eye shadow and lipstick after taking a shower in the morning. And despite the fact that she would not be wearing her birth face today while she was in public she would put it all on anyway. She had to look beautiful. She had to look perfect. It ate at her when she was not. Her eyes wandered over to look at her left cheek in the mirror.

It had been months since her first trip to Middleton. In that time many things had happened. But one of the most lasting effects of the journey had been the bruise that was left on her face when Kim had struck her. The fist on her flesh had hurt enough, both when it connected and for days afterward. But the mental effect was the most telling part of the damage. She still felt the bruise there even though it had long since healed and vanished. It still stung even though her skin had long since stopped hurting. She knew it was still there beneath her flesh. The scar that Kim had left on her face was not a physical one; it was psychological.

It was a mark of her failure to manipulate her mark. It was a reminder of her weakness. At the thought of her weakness she looked down on the bathroom vanity at the bottle of pills. She angrily picked the bottle up and read the name on the label. "Camille Leon". She hated the pills. She hated feeling like she was broken inside, despite how true she knew it was. And she hated the fact the pills helped her, and thus she continued taking them. The rogue personalities inside of her had not surfaced since a couple of weeks after she began taking her medication. She was in full control of both her mind and her shape-shifting abilities. Gone were the days where she would talk to herself as she took on the faces of Kim, Bonnie, and others. Her dissociative identity disorder was under control. It was imperative that it stayed that way during this mission. She could not risk another breakdown in front of Kim. Never again would she display such weakness.

After swallowing a pill she tossed the disposable cup in the bathroom garbage and began applying her makeup. Her favorite light pink lipstick was the first thing. She puckered her lips after and assured herself that it looked good. Not that anyone would see it anyway. Well, perhaps one person…

A smirk crossed her lips as she thought about the upcoming day. It was the first day of school. It was the first time she would be back at that pathetic excuse for an educational facility since the night she attended her first and only prom. Things had been so much simpler back then. Her scheme had been brought to an end by not only the hands of Kim and Ron, but her own as well. Things had seemed optimistic back then. She even thought about having some sort of future with Ron, could he ever be convinced to abandon his little hero hobby. She still believed she could turn him to her side. She believed she could make him see the light, see the hypocrisy and utter pointlessness of his actions that had been so clearly shown to her by Gemini. But if those efforts turned out to be in vain she had other plans as well. After all, she had a whole empire to learn about and prepare to eventually control.

Picking up a brush, she ran it through her bright blonde locks as she continued looking in the mirror. "This day is going to be perfect…" she said with a sinister smile.

A smile would have to do for now. Camille Leon did not do villainous laughs. The boisterous, ugly sounds were not befitting of a lady of class and dignity like herself. Those sorts of things could be left to barbarians such as Shego.

She briefly wondered what had ever happened to Shego. The last time the two villainesses had seen each other was at the Tempus Simia temple in Africa. It had been the final climactic showdown between all of the people and sides that were intertwined in that spider web of villainy and deceit. She was not in custody, Camille knew this much just by spending the past near three months living with Senor Senior Sr. He liked to keep up with the activities of other super villains around the world. Knowing their victories and failures helped him not only gauge his own actions, but kept him feeling competitive as well. He would not tolerate someone outshining him at the game he wished to perfect.

Perhaps the desire for perfection ran in her family's blood. She couldn't help but smile at the thought. There were far worse traits to pass on to your progeny.

There was a light knock on the bathroom door. In an instant her smile turned into an annoyed scowl.

"What!" she yelled without looking back at the door.

"Ms. Leon, I thought I should inform you that you have only an hour until your first class begins," the voice said.

"I'm not stupid. I know how to read a clock. The big hand tells the minutes and the little hand tells the hours!" she said sarcastically.

For a few seconds there was only silence. Camille wondered what must have been going through the man's mind.

"Yes, Ms. Leon," he finally said. "However the mission outline was clear. You should be at school extra early to socialize with the people you have not seen much since the end of the previous school year."

"Thank you, Iota, but I'm pretty sure I know a thing or two about conning. And I'm damn sure I know more about these idiot high school kids and their little social lives than you do."

"Yes, Ms. Leon."

"Now I know why Gemini gave you that name. You don't have an iota of intelligence in that stupid little purple-hooded head of yours, do you?" she said before pausing for a moment. "And don't answer that, I know you little monkeys are trained to just keep agreeing with whatever Gemini says. He probably told you to do the same with me."

"Yes, Ms. Leon."

"Yes, Ms. Leon," she said mockingly. "This was so much easier when I was working alone."

"If you need anything I'll be in the living room."

"Whatever."

She heard Agent Iota walk away from the bathroom door for the first few steps before there was silence once more. Camille sighed in frustration as she looked back into the mirror. She had to remind herself that she was going to have fun today. She was going to have fun for a long time if things went according to plan. Despite the fact that her grandfather had signed up to work with Gemini, she was still in charge of this part of their plan. Manipulation and lies were her specialty. She was not a genius like Professor Dementor. She was not a Kung Fu master like Monkey Fist. All she had to work with was her mind and her words. And of course the surgery which allowed her to cause the maximum damage with the minimum of force. She briefly wondered if her powers might be the most potent of them all.

With the right strings pulled she could impersonate anyone. She could be put into any position of power. Be it the chairman of a multi-billion dollar corporation or the head of state of a nation, the proper knowledge and convincing acting skills could mean that she could be anyone, anywhere, anytime. Super villains were regularly hunted down by either Global Justice or Kim Possible. But she could remain under the radar indefinitely if she so chose. It's just that in these cases involving Kim that she simply did not want to remain hidden. She wanted the redhead to know that she was coming after her again. Like she had said before, her victories were so much sweeter when Kim knew they were coming and could do nothing to stop them.

When she was finished with her makeup she felt ready to step out of the bathroom and into the world. Before she opened the door she took on the appearance of her new face. She looked at it for a few seconds in the mirror and smiled once more.

"Get ready, Kim," she said in the new voice. "The bitch is back in town."

XXXXXXXXXX

The halls in Middleton High School had a distinct smell to them. It would not last for long, perhaps only the first week of the school year, if it made it even that long. Maybe it was because the halls had been clean for almost three months without the stench of hundreds of sweaty, smelly teenagers roaming them. Or perhaps it was because the vast majority of the students had not been in them since their previous school year had ended and were just not used to the smell of the school. But in any case it was a noticeable odor.

Kim and Ron strode through the halls together as they had been doing so all of their lives. Only now they had a certain swagger about them. They were seniors. They were in their final year of compulsory education, not including of course the option of dropping out prior to graduation. But for the two of them such a thing was never an option to begin with. Not only would their parents never have allowed it, but they themselves would have never allowed the other to drop out.

They headed to their lockers that stood right next to each other. One of the perks of being a senior, Kim supposed. In addition to this they had every class together this year. For the first time ever Kim had decided to take a study hall. She briefly wondered if it was just so she could keep an eye on Ron so that no one could ever manipulate him without her presence ever again. She wondered then if she could really be so possessive and protective of her best friend. She dismissed such ideas and reaffirmed in her mind that it was just because she wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before graduation. She had thought about that even before the incident earlier in the year. There was still the very real possibility that they would be separated after they left these halls and moved on into the real world.

After she worked the combination in on her locker she stuffed her backpack in and then took out the books she would need for her first few classes. She looked over and saw Ron doing the same.

"Ready for the last first day we'll ever have in this place?" she said as she closed her locker door.

"More than you'll ever know," he said excitedly. "I can't believe we're finally at this point. We're seniors, Kim. Seniors!"

"I know. It's pretty amazing. Pretty soon we'll both be eighteen too. It's like a whole new world is about to open up to us."

"Yeah! Imagine all the cool stuff we'll be able to do. We can get credit cards, buy things with them, not pay the bills, get bad credit-"

"Um, Ron?"

"Yeah, KP?"

"I think adulthood has a lot more to offer than credit card debt."

"Really? That's not what adults seem to think. All I ever hear them talk about are bills and needing money."

"Which is why we're going to enjoy as much of our childhoods as we can while we still have them. Only then will we worry about jobs and money."

"I seem to recall you already worrying about jobs and money, Ms. Green Jacket girl."

"It was a phase," Kim said defensively. "The jacket just seemed so must-have back then. And then I saw Shego in it." Kim shuddered at the memory. "I wish she'd wear all the clothes I wanted. It would be a great way to help me save money."

"Maybe we oughta make her the spokeswoman for Club Banana. Imagine all the stuff you wouldn't buy if you saw Shego wearing it first."

"Great, that's just what I need. My arch nemesis working for Club Banana. As if my personal life isn't being invaded enough by super villains. Then I wouldn't even be able to enjoy fashion."

"Hey, you're the one who brought it up. I'm just expanding on the idea. It's what I do. I may not have many good ideas on my own, but I know how to take something out there and make it better. Or just say it louder and with more pizzaz."

"Yeah, it's a real gift you have there," she said sarcastically.

"Kim!" she heard a voice say from behind her.

She turned around to see Monique running toward her. Kim grinned as she set her books down on the floor.

"Monique!" she said as she embraced the girl in a tight hug. "How have you been?"

"Great! Well, as good as I can be since you knocked me on my butt at the mall."

"What?" Ron asked. "Did I miss a fight or something?"

"Of course not!" Kim said. "We didn't fight. It was just, well, I wasn't looking where I was running and I ran into Monique outside of Club Banana."

"Oh. Well it sounds perfectly normal when it's in context. Thanks for keeping me out of the loop."

"Come on, don't be so overdramatic," Monique said. "It was just a girl's day out kind of thing. Or it was until Kim had to do some mission stuff."

"Right. Going to Senior's island and all," he said, finishing the story.

"So how'd that work out anyway? Did you catch him?"

"No," Kim sighed. "He got away when Ron and I were dealing with some Spinning Tops of Doom. But we did manage to find out Dr. Director's location. We're expecting to hear an update from Global Justice sometime today."

"You mean you didn't go with them to rescue her?"

"As they so often like to point out, they're the professionals. I'm sure they're more than capable of handling a rescue operation for their own leader. And besides, first day of the new school year and all. It wouldn't look good to not show up for that unless there was some major family stuff going on."

"I guess you're right."

Both Kim and Monique turned when they heard Ron's voice. They saw he was talking to someone else, a younger student whom they had never seen before.

"You go upstairs and then take a right. At the end of the hall on the right side is where you'll find Ms. Gilmore's room," he said to the younger female student.

"Thanks a lot for the help," she said before walking away in the direction Ron had pointed.

Kim's weirder immediately began going off. She took Ron by the arm and dragged him closer to herself and Monique.

"Ron, what was that about?"

"Freshman. Was clueless about where Ms. Gilmore's room was. She has some English class for first period."

"No, I mean, doesn't this remind you of anything else?"

"Oh. Right. You mean that one time when I was a freshman and I asked for directions and the guy who I talked to sent me into a janitor's closet? Now I'm not one to judge, KP, but I didn't expect you to want to play 'torture the freshman'."

"I- what?" she asked confusedly. "No, no, Ron. Not at all. Don't you remember Camille? Don't you remember her posing as that sophomore named Jill? She got close to you by doing that."

"So, what? Are you just going to assume that anyone who's nice to me is Camille in disguise?"

Kim didn't know how to answer. Of course she wanted to say no. But that would be a lie. In truth she would have a small hint of suspicion for any unknown person who was getting close to Ron. She again wondered if it was a bad thing that she seemed to be acting so protective of her friend. She knew that she had nothing but good intentions. But at the same time it wasn't fair to him to treat him like he couldn't take care of himself or make his own decisions.

"Honestly? After what happened last year I think I would be suspicious if this girl wound up getting close to you."

"I see. Good to know that Camille doesn't even have to be close or out in the open in order to mess with us again. I mean look at us. We're not even into the first period of the first day and we're already getting worked up about it."

"I know…" Kim frowned. "We just, I don't even know. We'll just keep our guards up extra high, okay?"

"Sure. We should probably be getting to class soon though."

"Okay," she said as she turned back to Monique. "See you in second period."

Before Kim could leave though, Monique grabbed her wrist.

"You go ahead, Ron," she told him. "I need to talk to Kim for a second."

"Oh. Alright."

Ron walked off toward their first period class. When he was out of hearing range Monique spoke.

"You did the right thing, just so you know," she told Kim. "I know it wasn't easy since he's your best friend. But you really do have his best interests in mind. You can't have a repeat of last year. And deep down he knows it too."

"Thanks, Monique."

"I'm here for you, okay girl? About more than just fashion and boys. If you ever need to talk about stuff that maybe you can't discuss with Ron, you know where to find me."

Kim smiled at the friendly gesture. "I know. How about we go for smoothies after school? Us and Ron? And we'll ask Felix too. We should really be spending as much time as we can together this year."

"Sounds great. I'll be there. And maybe you can ask Felix? I don't think I have any classes with him this year."

"I will," Kim said as she looked up at one of the clocks in the hallway. "Alright, we'd both better get going before we're late."

"Okay. See you in second."

"Bye."

They separated and went their own ways. Kim felt better after the brief chat with Monique. She did feel guilty about what she had done concerning Ron. But having a third party like Monique tell her that she did the right thing and that she had only the best intentions did make her feel more at ease. She realized then just how lucky she was to have two amazing best friends like she had. With allies like them maybe this year wasn't as grim as it had initially seemed.


	7. Truth or Dare

Authors Note: As always many thanks go out to those who read and reviewed.

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

"_A simple truth is the most complex deception."_

_~Anonymous_

XXXXXXXXXX

Friday afternoon was the most anticipated time of the week for any high school student. It was the beginning of the weekend, a time to unwind and have fun. The first week of school had come and gone. Kim had not expected it to go by without any casualties. The first, however, had been a most unexpected source.

Mr. Barkin had fallen ill earlier in the week from an apparent case of food poisoning. He would be out for the next few days, perhaps the entire upcoming week. A substitute teacher would be in his place to teach the world geography class that she and Ron were taking. Immediately Kim looked suspiciously at the newcomer. She hated the fact that any unexpected scenario or new person in her life could be the devious debutante that she had tangled with before. The substitute seemed legitimate enough, and she certainly knew her stuff when it came to the course. But in the back of her mind, Kim could not help but wonder if her bleached blonde foe was spying on her from a position of authority. Kim certainly could not challenge any member of the faculty even if she did turn out to be Camille in disguise. In the end she still had no proof, no matter how convenient it was for the assistant principle and super sub to become sick.

Kim shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind. There would be plenty of time to look into this later when she was actually at school. Right now she had work to do, regardless of it being the weekend. She and Ron had been summoned to Global Justice's headquarters underneath Middleton. It was the first time she was going to see Dr. Director in a number of months. She was thankful that the older woman had been recovered without a hitch by the elite Global Justice strike team. In addition to her rescue, a number of Worldwide Evil Empire agents had been apprehended. Subsequent interrogation of the henchmen had resulted in little information, the small amount that they did get out worthless or already known by Global Justice. A quick look on the internet revealed to Kim that the Greek letters which were emblazoned on the chests of the agents were the last few in the alphabet. It was no wonder that such low class men and women had so little to offer.

A pair of automatic steel doors stood in front of her and Ron as they approached the office of Dr. Director. She didn't look over to Ron as she spoke to him.

"I'm telling her everything, just so you know," she said in a low voice.

Ron nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Alright."

If his answer surprised Kim then she didn't show it. "There's just too much at risk now. There can't be any wildcards out there. Not again."

"I know."

"Okay. Just making sure we're on the same page."

With a whooshing noise the doors that led into the office opened and the two teens walked in. They saw Dr. Director sitting with a mound of papers on her desk. But despite the sheer volume of documents before her they were still in neat and organized piles.

She looked up with her one good eye to greet the newcomers. "Ah, Ms. Possible, Mr. Stoppable. Thank you for coming." She made a gesture with her hand to sit on the chairs on the other side of her desk. "Please, take a seat."

Both did as they were asked and sat in the two chairs in front of them.

"First of all, I would like to personally thank you for your part in the operation to free me from Gemini's hands. Had it not been for the information that you acquired from Senor Senior Sr. then it may have taken months to locate the W.E.E. base. And it very well may have never been found."

"It was no big," Kim said with her typical nonchalant attitude toward being praised for her mission work. "In fact I personally thought it was a bit too easy."

"Don't sell yourself short, Ms. Possible," Betty smiled. "Perhaps rather than it being easy, you've improved your skills to where it only seems easier than it has before."

A half-frown formed on Kim's lips as she considered it. She hadn't thought of it like that before. "Maybe," she conceded.

"The second reason I've asked you here is to offer you a job. You have more than proven your worth in the field. And we could use all of the top agents we can get in the upcoming war against the W.E.E."

Kim gave Ron a look before turning back to Betty. "A job? I don't think I can afford any more activities at the moment. Between school, cheerleading and missions I'm already short on time. And I haven't even decided on a college yet. So adding this would only-"

"About the missions," Betty said, cutting Kim off. "As a Global Justice agent you would no longer be permitted to go on your own freelance missions. You would be under our employment. And Global Justice doesn't hire vigilantes."

A full frown appeared on her face this time. "I don't think I can do that. I'm sorry."

"I understand. But I just thought I'd put it out there."

"Thanks for the offer. But for now at least I'm going to stay where I am.

Betty gave an appreciative nod. "Well if you ever change your mind you know where to find me."

"Thanks," Kim said before pausing for a moment to think. She then looked back up into Betty's eyes. "There's something else you need to know."

"What would that be?"

"It's about this whole W.E.E. thing. And Camille Leon."

"Camille Leon?" Betty asked incredulously. "You mean the airheaded millionaire heiress to that cat food company?"

"That's the one."

"What on earth does she have to do with the W.E.E.?"

Kim gave a quick glance over to Ron. His hope of reforming the shape shifter had vanished when they had made the trip to Milan a couple of weeks earlier. She was evil; there was no getting around that. She had aligned herself with Gemini and his twisted organization. And now she was back in Middleton to wreak even more havoc on their lives. Who knows what else she might be up to in the near future?

"There's more to her than meets the eye," Kim began. "There's so much that you need to know. So much that you probably won't believe at first. But I need you to know that I'm telling the truth. Do you trust me, Dr. Director?"

Betty narrowed her eye at Kim. "I trust you implicitly," the older woman said in a serious tone.

"Camille Leon is a shape shifter. She can alter her appearance and voice to look and sound like anyone in the world. I've already dealt with her earlier in the year. Things were… complicated back then. In more ways than one."

Betty leaned back in her chair and folded her hands together in thought. For a few long moments she was silent as she considered the revelation that had been presented to her. She finally returned her attention to the redhead before her.

She studied Kim's face for a few moments to search for any signs of humor or deceit. When she found none she spoke. "Kim, that sounds absolutely preposterous," she said. "However I am willing to hear more. I've seen more than my fair share of bizarre and unexplainable things in my line of work. I mean, how is it even physically possible to transport a human body and then rematerialize it through a phone line? The Transportulator is something that our scientists have never been able to unlock the secrets of."

The mention of the Transportulator brought the third reason Dr. Director had asked Kim here to the forefront of her mind. But for now she decided to listen to what Kim had to say about Camille.

"I'm sure you remember that Team Impossible assisted me last spring, right?" Kim asked.

"Yes, I do recall reading something about that."

"That was a whole Camille Leon thing. Don't let her act fool you. She's not as stupid as she looks on TV. She's a horrible, evil, manipulative, deceitful, sociopathic human being."

Kim had not realized that a look of utter hatred had formed on her face as she described the blonde. It took the looks from both Dr. Director and Ron to let her know that something was wrong.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You really seem to hate this young woman," Betty commented.

The tone in Kim's voice lowered. "More than you'll ever know."

For the first time in the conversation, Betty turned her attention to Ron. "Mr. Stoppable, might you be able to tell me what Camille Leon did to Kim that caused these feelings? At least while she collects her emotions?"

Ron looked to his best friend to see her staring down at the floor, a scowl still on her face. He looked back over to Dr. Director before hesitantly speaking.

"Well, um, where do I begin?" he asked nervously.

"The beginning would be nice."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Okay then. It started out with Camille impersonating Kim and going on a mission with me and stealing the Tiffany Yellow Diamond at a museum. That kinda hurt Kim's reputation."

"Kinda?" Kim shot at him. "Not only does the museum think I failed them, they think I'm nuts now because I was talking to them about shape shifters."

"Much like you are with me right now," Betty commented.

"Whatever," Kim huffed.

Dr. Director nodded back to Ron. "Please, continue."

"Well after that she framed our classmates Bonnie Rockwaller and Brick Flagg and got them suspended from school for stuff they didn't do. Then she started to date me with the intention of breaking apart Team Possible, and our friendship in the process. And then she-"

Ron stopped himself short of telling for him what the most personal part of the whole ordeal was.

"And then she…?" Betty repeated.

He resumed scratching the back of his neck. "Um, it's kinda personal. I don't think I want to get into it."

"I see."

Betty looked over to see that Kim was once again fuming. It wouldn't have been noticeable to more people. However, most people were not trained like she was. Kim was doing her best to keep herself composed, but Betty could tell that there was a battle raging inside of Kim's body and mind. Her anger had been reignited when Ron had stopped short of the last detail.

"It's really not all that important," he half-lied. It may not have been important overall to the actions that Camille had committed, but it was very important for him personally. Ron Stoppable, the loser, the geek, the boy at the lowest level of the Middleton High School food chain, had had sex with a beautiful young woman. If not for the circumstances he probably would have rated it as the highest achievement in his life.

"If you say so," she said. "After hearing this I have little reason to doubt your claims. I'll also look into the report that Team Impossible wrote up after their mission to Africa to assist you. By the way, I'd also like a full write-up of these events from you two as well. If you don't mind, that is. If Camille is as much of a threat as you say she is then I'll need all the information on hand that I can get."

"Aw man," Ron lamented. "We already have one stupid paper to write over the weekend. Now we have another?"

"It's fine," Kim said to Betty, answering for the both of them. "We'd be more than happy to provide any and all information we can about what happened with her and the Supreme One."

"The Supreme One?" Betty asked.

Kim just shook her head in disgust. "She's gone now. Hopefully for good. I'll include it in the report. I think you've had enough bizarre explanations for one day."

"Thanks for your consideration," she smiled.

A few seconds of silence hung in the room before Kim broke it. "Well if there was nothing else-"

"Actually, there was," Betty interrupted her. "It was actually the main reason I asked you to come here."

"Oh," Kim said, slightly embarrassed that she had been so eager to leave. "What's the sitch?"

"It's about the reason that this headquarters was raided in the first place," she explained. "Gemini was looking for something known as 'Avarice Complex'."

"Avarice Complex?" Ron asked. "That sounds Latinish. The first word, at least. I should totally know this."

"Yeah, you only took a whole year of Latin last year," Kim smirked. "It comes from a Latin word meaning 'greed'."

"Very good, Ms. Possible," Betty said. "It was a code name for a secret underground Global Justice facility. Inside it was stored all of the weapons and schematics that we have ever recovered from super villains when they were captured or their abandoned lairs raided."

Kim's face went a little white at the explanation. "That sounds… frightening," she admitted.

"It is. And it's especially true now that it was attacked and plundered."

Kim exhaled deeply before stating the obvious. "By Gemini."

"Yes. My brother now possesses a vast array of technology and doomsday devices from years of development and construction from the likes of Dr. Drakken and Professor Dementor."

"That's bad," Ron said.

Dr. Director ignored the other obvious statement. "Security footage also shows that Dementor himself was with Gemini. The two apparently teamed up after the W.E.E. broke him and other super villains out of this base a few weeks ago."

"That's very bad," he added.

"Who else was broken out?" Kim asked.

"Monkey Fist and Max Brigand."

"Max Brigand?" Ron asked. "That guy is so freaking annoying. I hate it when minor villains try to be a part of our lives."

"So as you can see we have our hands full right now. That was just one of the reasons I had hoped that you would join us full time."

Kim frowned as she shook her head. "I know there's a lot going on here, but there's a lot going on with us too. And that's not even counting school and just being a teenager in general."

"Yes, it's unfortunate you're not a year older. I could use someone like you right now. You'd be an agent on par with Will Du himself."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or a compliment," she admitted.

Betty smiled, knowing the rough history between Kim and her own top agent. "It was a compliment, of course. Will Du may be many things, but one thing he is not is an inferior agent. He has all of the tools necessary to be the best. Being compared to him is nothing to take offense to."

"I guess," she grumbled.

"I'll let you get back to dealing with Ms. Leon. I have no doubt that you'll succeed. However, just in case she does decide to get involved directly in Global Justice affairs, I'm going to begin initiating regular DNA screenings for all of our personnel. She may be able to shape shift, as you say, but not even that can change her genetic code."

"I'd certainly hope not."

"I'll get some of our top scientists working on it. For now though we'll have to make do with what we have. Thank you for coming today, both of you. The information you've provided will be useful in the coming months, one way or another."

"No big. Call me if you ever need to get in touch. At any hour of the day or night."

"I'll keep that in mind. Take care."

"You too."

Kim and Ron exited the office and made their way back through the facility. Both sides had learned a lot from this visit. She hoped that they would both benefit from the newfound knowledge. Knowledge was power after all. And for too long they had been on the losing side when it came to information. She knew that she had to get her hands on Camille in order to learn more about her plans. The only question was how she would even find a girl who didn't want to be found in the first place.

XXXXXXXXXX

Three figures stood in a small, dimly lit room. Leather-bound books filled with tales of heroic warriors and dark sorceries were stacked haphazardly on the desks inside it. The three of them, two men and one woman, all stood around a table with a map of the United States on it. One of them, the shorter of the two men, had a black marker in hand and was busy drawing a line leading from their current location to the west coast. To Hollywood.

The redheaded girl with glasses looked down at the map with a furrowed brow. "I still think it would be better to take this route," she complained. "It would save us approximately two hours instead of doing it your way."

"I already told you, Charlotte, my way is better because it has more rest stops along the way," Larry snapped back at her.

"If we pack according to my plan and follow the schedule I've laid out we won't need any unnecessary stops along the way."

Larry pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "For the last time, we can't regulate our bathroom schedules just because you say we should. And besides, more rest stops also increases the amount of time we'll have to access Wi-Fi along the way."

"And increased Wi-Fi is never a negative," Ned pointed out.

Charlotte looked at the two brown-haired men in glasses in disgust. It figured that two guys who were so similar would team up against her on this one.

"Fine, we'll do it your way," she conceded. "But when we arrive in Hollywood at eight local time rather than six it will be up to you to find us a place to stay."

"I highly doubt that two hours will matter to any of the inns," Ned said. "In fact local innkeepers will probably be delighted to have three late arrivals to their establishment rather than make less money for the evening."

"Whatever."

Larry put his hands up to call for silence. "In any case, our primary focus should not be on the route which we are travelling to get to California, but rather our mission and how we intend to accomplish it."

His two friends looked at him, waiting for him to continue. When he did not Charlotte was the first to speak. "Well? Have you finished coming up with the plan?"

"Oh, I have," he smiled. "I have something that they or will anyone else will ever expect."

"Which is?" Ned asked eagerly.

"Let me ask you this first," Larry said. "Have you two brought along your uniforms?"

Both confirmed that they indeed had, and reached into their bags to retrieve them. Charlotte pulled out a vintage 1960s Fearless Ferret "Ferret Girl" costume complete with working utility belt. The spandex was completely covering and the mask would conceal the top half of her face. No one would ever know it was her.

Ned on the other hand produced several large pieces of white plastic armor along with a matching helmet. There were enough pieces to cover his body completely to turn him into the iconic evil foot soldier from the trilogy of movies that all three of them loved.

Larry nodded in approval. "Very good. I approve of your cosplay outfits. They will make excellent disguises for our mission."

"What about you, Larry?" Ned asked. "Where's your costume?"

Larry puffed his chest and let a proud smile form on his face. "I'm already wearing it."

Charlotte scoffed. "Yeah right. You're just wearing your usual clothes that you go to class in. What are you cosplaying as? The world's worst road trip planner?"

"Laugh all you want, Charlotte. But I think you'll find that my costume is the real deal."

With speed that was unnatural for a young man of Larry's physique, he tore his shirt off to reveal another piece of clothing under it. A tight-fitting white bodysuit with bands of blue on the arms and collar clung to his form.

Ned looked at him in wide-eyed awe. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I believe so," he stated proudly. "This is my cousin's battle suit. It's been used a grand total of one time before, a few months earlier when she went on a mission to Africa."

"So it works then?"

"It does. The stuff Ron told me about it is so awesome. Not only is it self-healing, but the hand can morph into cup thing to catch energy bolts and then hurl them back at your attacker."

"That is so cool…" Ned said. "I'm so jealous."

"I know."

He looked over at Charlotte to gauge her reaction. Always the one to disagree with him and eager to start conflict, she looked to equally impressed with the suit. Larry smiled to himself. He had finally shut her up. He was determined to savor the moment.

"I just have one question though," Ned continued.

"Go ahead."

A slight frown crossed his lips. "So you're cosplaying as Kim Possible then?"

A laugh mixed with a snort erupted out of Charlotte's mouth. Larry shot her a glare that intended to silence her but had no such effect.

"I am not cosplaying as my cousin," he said defensively. "I'm merely borrowing her super suit to aid us in a mission that she does not understand the importance of. Had she been willing to go along with it I doubt it would have even needed to come out of her closet."

"How'd you even get it from her?"

"I asked her to show it to me one day, because I said it would help me plan out a scenario that I was currently roleplaying. And I kept going on and on about the whole thing which eventually made her leave the room. She told me to put it back when I was finished looking at it."

"That's really messed up, Larry," Charlotte said. "You can't just go stealing a girl's clothes like that."

"You're just mad because you don't have a battle suit."

She crossed her arms and looked the other way. "Am not," she said weakly.

"Besides it's not like I'm not going to give it back," he explained. "I'm only borrowing it until we shut down the new Fearless Ferret movie. After that I'll return it and she hopefully won't even know that I've been using it this whole time."

"But what if she needs it during one of her missions and finds out it's missing?" Ned said.

Larry sighed heavily. "Look, she knows what she's doing out there. And she doesn't need a battle suit to have an edge on anyone. My cousin kicks more butt than a Dungeon Magus and Dragon Tamer combined."

"If you say so."

"I do," he said as he looked over at the clock in his dorm room. "But for now I think it's time we adjourned. We have class tomorrow and we don't want to be late. After all, we're all going to need to be taking a little extended time off soon. So we should proceed with the scheduled two hours of Everlot before we go to bed."

Both Ned and Charlotte nodded. Charlotte stood up and collected her belongings before heading out the door to the hall and back to her own room.

Ned on the other hand just moved his bag to the floor and went over to his computer on one of the desks. Being Larry's roommate naturally made him the perfect candidate to be one of the members of his fellowship. He felt just as strongly as Larry did about the remaking of the Fearless Ferret movie. Charlotte did as well. And both of them could be trusted without a shadow of a doubt thanks to the many years the three of them had spent roleplaying at their local comic book store.

Larry stood and moved over to the other desk to sit at his own computer. He and Ned, along with Charlotte from her own room logged into their Everlot accounts and began the process of playing their scheduled quests for the night. He liked it when things ran smoothly like this. He always planned ahead. And that was why he was sure that his plan to disrupt Jimmy Blamhammer's latest movie would succeed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Three figures stood in a large, well-lit room. All around them were sophisticated computers and large video screens filled with forbidden data. A number of electronic devices were carefully placed on tables around them ready to be examined and meticulously dismantled for the purposes or reverse engineering.

The room would have been unbearably warm had it not been for the powerful central air conditioning that the lair was equipped with. Gemini looked up at one of the vents and smiled to himself about the size of it. Kim Possible would not be coming in through this ventilation shaft like she had with many other villains in the past, present company included. Not that she would ever have any need to, he reminded himself.

His gaze briefly passed over his yellow-skinned ally as he worked on his current project. He was pleased to see that it was nearly complete. Dementor would soon be tasked with a new and equally important piece of equipment. Gemini then looked to Agent Beta who was standing a few feet behind him.

The single brown eye of Gemini fell upon him like a raptor's gaze. "Report," he said smoothly.

"Yes, Gemini," Beta said with a slight bow. "Our source inside Global Justice has informed me that Kim Possible has told Dr. Director the truth about Camille Leon's past and her abilities."

Gemini was happy that his dog Pepe was not currently in the room. A mention of his mortal enemy would have sent the animal into a frenzy of yapping. And such disturbances were not to be tolerated in a room full of such precious items.

"Did she now?" Gemini said thoughtfully. "Then I believe it will soon be time to commence with the next phase of the operation."

"Yes, Gemini."

Gemini walked over to one of the tables near him and picked up the item that sat atop it. He examined the pistol-like device for a few brief seconds before handing it to Beta.

"I want you to ensure that this device reaches the hands of Kim Possible."

Beta accepted the item before studying it himself for a moment. "This, sir?" he wondered.

"Yes, that. Were my orders not clear?"

He instantly straightened up his stance and held his head high. "No, Gemini. Of course not. It will be done."

"Good. I expect Ms. Possible to have a hard time acquiring it, of course. It will not simply be given to her, nor will she have any reason to believe that I want her to have it."

"Yes, Gemini. I believe a small raid is in order that will surely be defeated by her. We will lose an agent in the process, captured by her to be brought to Global Justice. I believe Tau will be the agent to be sacrificed."

Gemini thought about it for a few moments before smiling. "Yes, Tau will do nicely. Get it done, Agent Beta. Perhaps there will be a nice bonus in your paycheck this Christmas if this goes flawlessly. And of course you know the consequences if you fail me."

Beta swallowed hard. "Yes, Gemini. The operation will be a complete success. I have no doubt in my mind." He was about to turn and leave when another question came to his mind. "Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted. Speak."

"If I may ask, sir, what are we giving this to Kim Possible for? It seems that we would not want such a powerful piece of equipment in the hands of our enemies."

"A good question," Gemini said with rare praising. "Understanding is the key to everything that we do. The world does not understand. But they will. They will all see in due time."

"Yes, Gemini," Beta said with pride, both for his compliment and for the cause he served.

"I need Camille Leon to be fully committed to our cause. As it stands right now she can leave any time she chooses. Her role in our organization and operation is nothing more than 'on the job experience' in the eyes of Senor Senior Sr. But the fact remains that she is still nothing more than an amateur, an insult that our good friend Will Du so frequently likes to regurgitate to Kim Possible. Once Ms. Leon is indeed committed she will not only be further integrated into my plan, but she will receive proper training that someone like Senior could never hope to give her."

"But I thought Senior was training her in the ways of villainy."

Gemini let out a rare laugh. It was a laugh filled more with mocking and disdain than actual humor. "Senior is hopeless. He truly is an amateur who, I'm afraid at his age, will not be willing to change his thoughts and methods on this battle of 'heroes' and 'villains' going on in the world. He is stuck in his ways, and any protégé he tutors will only be tainted with ideas more befitting of a 1960s Fearless Ferret movie than any real world situation."

Beta nodded. "Is he really that bad? He did once work with Shego. And his money and the technology he is able to buy does help make up for his lack of skills."

Gemini let out a small sigh. "Ah, Shego. I would have liked to offer her a job for the upcoming trials. But sadly she already has a master, even if she does not yet realize it."

"You mean Drakken? How is he her master when she can and does toss him around like a rag doll on a regular basis?"

"You misunderstand the usage of 'master' in this instance, Beta," Gemini told him. "One does not need to be in a dominant role to still have mastery over another. No, Shego is chained to him even though she doesn't even realize it. She can't see that she is a person who feels best when she is needed by others. She was a member of Team Go, if you'll recall. She likes the feeling of being needed by Drakken. And so she continues to serve him even though she could do far greater things on her own. It is because she lacks vision as well as ambition that she could never truly be committed to our cause. She does what she does only for herself. Not for the benefit of Drakken."

"I understand now."

Gemini gave a small nod. "Good. Now getting back to Senior. I believe that the only other thing that needs to be said about him is that he ordered a book of villainy off of the internet. That, and that alone shows how utterly useless he is in the grand scheme of things, and why he will never be a major player in the world when the dust settles, even if he is on our side."

"I agree."

"Now then, I believe you have a team to organize. Do try to keep under the radar of the local authorities and keep witnesses to a minimum. We don't like the public to have too much knowledge of this shadow war that is fought between us and Global Justice."

"Yes, Gemini," Beta said as he bowed again before turning and walking out of the room.

Gemini turned his attention to the only other man in the room. He walked over to the desk that Dementor was currently seated at and looked at him as he worked. Dementor had an eye peering into the lens of a microscope as he toiled on the circuitry of his latest project.

"Is the mind switch machine nearly ready for its test run?" he asked.

Along with many pieces of intact technology, a great deal of blueprints for other destroyed super weapons had been recovered from Avarice Complex. One of them was the machine that had been the cause of Kim and Ron's minds being switched into the others bodies. The original had been destroyed when the lair being used by Dr. Drakken was destroyed. But with this knowledge another could be constructed.

Dementor deactivated his tool and looked up at Gemini before speaking. "Yes, Gemini. I do believe that I have been able to duplicate it to the precise specifications that Dr. Drakken originally created."

"I have no doubt. You always were far more capable than Drakken. And I wouldn't be surprised if there were even a few improvements over his."

Gemini hadn't realized that a man with yellow skin could blush. But this was revealed to him when he saw a small tinge of red on his ally's face.

"Oh, stop. You embarrass me."

"The truth is the truth, no matter how embarrassing it is," he said matter-of-factly. "Moving on, I have another task for you when you are finished with this. It will need to be started immediately afterward."

Dementor looked at him with an expression of mild shock. "So soon? I do hope I vill not have to build another of these machines from scratch."

"No, do not concern yourself with that. The device already exists. I just need you to improve it."

"Vhich one? And improve it how?"

"Come with me."

Gemini led Dementor to another of the tables. On it sat a red and black disc approximately the diameter of a large coffee mug. He picked it up and held it in front of Dementor. "Do you know what this is?"

Dementor shook his head.

"This is a personal energy shield invented by Dr. Drakken. I can only assume he never used it, or else he would not have so easily been defeated by Kim Possible at every turn. It was recovered in one of the many clean up missions conducted by Global Justice when he was captured and the location of his lair revealed."

"What would you like me to do with it?"

"Preliminary tests show that the shield it generates is very strong. Likely even to withstand the energy attacks of Shego, which is probably why he had originally invented it. What I want you to do is make the field bigger and stronger."

"How big vould you like it to be?"

"Big enough to completely protect this island complex."

Dementor's jaw opened for a moment before he shut it again. It took him a few seconds to remember how to speak. "Such energy that would be required to do such a thing is on a truly monumental scale. I do not think we even possess the generators to create enough."

"No, we do not. That is why we are tapping into a different energy source."

"But vhere?"

"Think about where we are."

Dementor thought for a few seconds before looking back into the eye of Gemini. "I understand."

"Then you can do it?"

"It vill take time to understand how Dr. Drakken created the device. And it vill take time to create and perfect a large enough energy shield to cover this island. But, yes, I believe it can be done."

"Good. I won't keep you any longer from your current project then. Inform me the moment it is ready for testing."

"I vill."

Without saying another word Gemini turned and walked out of the laboratory. Things were proceeding smoothly. They were even going according to his schedule. But he knew that even his most carefully laid out schedule was subject to change or setback with the forces arrayed against him. And he could not afford any setbacks now when things were this close. Time was not on his side.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was Sunday evening when Ron left Kim's house and began his short walk home. The two of them had spent part of the day writing not only their papers for school that were due the following day, but the report for Global Justice as well. And then of course was the obligatory hanging out that the two had done for nearly every weekend since they had first met. Tonight was no different, and the two had spent plenty of time watching TV and finding other ways to pass the time until darkness had fallen upon Middleton.

It was around eight o'clock when Ron had left. A relatively cloudless night meant that both the moon and stars were shining brightly down on him as he walked; lending their illumination to the dim street lights that lined either side of the road. He took a deep breath of the cool early September air as he walked. In less than a month summer would officially be over and the temperature as well as the colors of the leaves would begin to change. He took a moment to ponder what it all meant. It would be his last autumn as a high school student. It seemed like these days he was reminding himself that this would be the last everything of high school career. He had just finished his last month of August. Soon would be his last Halloween, his last Thanksgiving, and so on. It all seemed suddenly real to him. His childhood would soon be over and he would be going out into the real world. The thought of this unknown scared him, even if he didn't want to admit it. Most of the time he simply shoved the thought deep down inside of himself, knowing that he would have to face them one day, but not this one.

He wondered what was in store for his future. He wondered about his future with Kim, as he knew that she wondered the same thing about him. She could get into any school she wanted. He could perhaps only get a job at any fast food restaurant he wanted. He considered the fact that he had once worked for Bueno Nacho. Not only had he worked there, he had thrived there. Surely that would look good on any job application, even outside of the fast food industry. But even with this mildly positive thought he still pondered the difficulties he would go through in his near future as a consequence of not taking high school seriously. His cool and laid back attitude may have served him for the past three years, but he doubted that any reputable university would be as impressed.

Thoughts of his potential in more underhanded and criminal fields came to the forefront of his mind. He quickly pushed them aside, not wanting to even consider it a possibility. As if on cue a hauntingly familiar voice called out from behind him.

"Hey, bad boy."

Chills ran through his body as he turned to face who he knew was behind him. The girl whom had once been anything and everything to him came strolling up towards him as he stood there dumbfounded. She could be called a number of things based on their past experiences together. Friend, girlfriend, and lover were a few of the positive ones. Villain, psychopath and bitch were just a short list of the many negatives. But on this night at this moment only one word seemed appropriate for what she was. Trouble.

"Wha- what are you doing here?"

"You hadn't heard?" she pouted. "I could have sworn that Kimmie-cub would have given you the message."

Ron ignored Camille's usage of the nickname that Kim's father used on her. There were more pressing matters at the moment.

He took a few steps to stand closer to her. "I haven't seen you since Milan. Or at least not this face. I don't know who you've been impersonating at Middleton High for the past week."

"I know, isn't it great?" she smiled.

"No, it's not great! I really thought that you wanted to change after all the stuff that we went through together. I thought you wanted me to save you."

"Or maybe I just wanted you to want to save me."

Ron sighed and shook his head in sad disbelief. "What, you mean you were using me again? What this time? Plan on breaking Kim and me apart? You should know that I'll never let that happen ever again."

"Use you? You wound me, Ron Stoppable," she said with mock hurt. "It's like I've told you many times before, this is all just a game to me. At least until…" she trailed off.

"Until what?"

"Nevermind. The point is that as usual I have nothing but your best interests in mind."

"My best interests? You dragged us to Milan because you had told me that you were going to steal fashion designs. And you got a few other criminals to take the fall for you. But you're the real thief."

"Why? Because I stole your heart? Heard it before, Mad Dog."

Ron's eyes narrowed on her. "Don't even start with the flirting. You won't distract me like you did in Milan."

"I don't need to distract you. No offense, but I don't think you could even stop me if I wanted to get away. You're no Brick Flagg. Thankfully…"

"What-"

Camille cut him off before he could ask what she had meant by that. "And as I'm sure you're aware, you're too far away from Kim's house to call for backup. This is just between you and me now, Ron. Just as it always should have been."

Ron didn't want to admit it, but she may be right. He was certainly not strong by any sense of the word. And even if he was it would do him no good to try to attack and restrain a young woman on the middle of the sidewalk where there were certain to be witnesses potentially viewing, whether they were genuine or plants by the young blonde woman.

He threw his hands up in disgust and sighed. "Okay. So what do you want then?"

"You know what I want. And I know what you want," she said as she moved close enough to him to wrap her arms around the back of his neck.

Ron's heart began beating even quicker than it had been before. The touch, the smell, everything about the situation reminded him of what he once had. He had dated Camille when he had been both a hero and a villain. And right now his natural male instincts were telling him that he wanted it again.

He gently pushed her away from him so that they were not longer touching chest to chest. "You know we can't be friends as long as you're trying to destroy Kim's life. I mean, there are certain parts of the hero/villain relationship that I can really dig. Like how you once mentioned the Fearless Ferret and Sheela. But not like this, Camille."

She glared at him for a split-second before her warm gaze returned. "Aw. After all we've been through together? After all we've shared?" she asked. He couldn't tell if her words were genuine or sarcastic.

"You know that I won't be able to forget about that for as long as I live. But you still know how I feel about all of this. Kim and me come as a package. You can't have me unless you have her too."

Camille couldn't help but grin at his choice of words. "Wow, Ron. I didn't know you had those thoughts about the three of us. And I especially didn't know that Kim would be on board with them."

Ron's face contorted in confusion before the realization finally hit him. His eyes widened a bit as he backtracked. "What? No. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, um, no, you know what? I'm not even going to go there. You know what I meant. I don't even need to clarify it."

She laughed at his discomfort. "Same old Ron. It's one of the things I always liked about you. You're so… you. So Ron Factorish. Why couldn't you have still been this way when you were evil? I would have liked the bad boy had he not been an abusive psychopath."

"Yeah well that's what you get when you put an Attitudinator on my head. It's happened twice now. I don't think there will ever be a way I'll want to find out if the third time's the charm."

"Especially since all of them are destroyed," she added. "But speaking of the Ron Factor, it really is such a pity that GJ discontinued their research."

"What are you talking about?"

She blinked innocently a few times at the question. "What? You hadn't heard?"

"Heard what?" he asked impatiently.

"According to one of the files that Drakken gave me before I started my mission with you and Kim this past spring, the Ron Factor project ended around the time you were abducted by Gemini."

"Oh," he frowned. "Honestly I'd be lying if I said this didn't hurt just a tiny bit."

"You want to know what else the file said?" she grinned.

He didn't like the mischievous look on her face. But his curiosity did tend to get the better of him in most situations. "What?" he asked.

"It said, and I quote, 'the Ron Factor is a non factor'."

He didn't say it aloud, but that simple line she had quoted did hurt quite a bit. But now was not the time to reveal weakness. Especially not to her.

"It gets better," she continued. "Do you want to know who the real secret to Kim's success is?"

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Rufus. Your naked mole rat contributes more to Team Possible than you do. At least according to Global Justice. How does that make you feel?"

Ron searched her face for any hint of deception. He could find none. Someone like her could easily be hiding behind a mask of lies though. But he did not think that this was true, not in this case. The look of utter pleasure on her smiling face told him that she was not only telling the truth, but that she was enjoying every moment of it.

And it hurt. It hurt him to think that Global Justice thought so little of him. It hurt to learn that he was worth so little and contributed nothing to the success of the team. If Global Justice saw it then surely Kim could see it as well. The way he figured it, she might as well be the one who carried Rufus in her pocket while on a mission. That way there would be no pants being lost and no creating another Senor Senior Sr. with his big mouth.

Camille, aware that the silence had been hanging in the air for too long, finally broke it. "What? Don't tell me you actually believe that."

He looked up at her, having been deep in thought. "What?"

"It's like I told you before. You have all the potential in the world. And you and I could do great things together if you'd only give it a shot."

"Please don't tell me you're going to give me the whole 'become a villain with me' speech again."

She ran a hand through her hair to remove the little bit that had fallen uncomfortably on her face. "No, I think I've given up on ever trying to turn you against your friend. After what I've just told you, which by the way I can give you the report if you need proof, you should really just abandon the whole world saving gig. Deny your partner and refuse your name as a hero," she said with her own personal Shakespearean touch. The Bard was one of the few passions she had left in this world. "And together we can have more fun than you could possibly imagine."

It wasn't quite the same. The other times she had wanted him to not only abandon being a hero, but to turn against the world and create chaos and havoc with her. But this was different. This wasn't a request to be malicious or evil. It was simply a request to have… fun. And Ron could imagine quite a bit of fun with the beautiful heiress of a family worth millions.

Ron was about to speak when Camille put a finger to his lips. "Don't answer me just yet. It's a big decision. One that shouldn't be made on the spot or under stress. And people never _perform_ well when under stress," she winked.

He considered her emphasized word for a moment before taking offense. "Hey! Was that a shot at our night together?"

"Relax," she smiled. "First time. You get a free pass. But don't you want a second time?"

That question sent his heart racing once again. He felt a deep pang in his stomach at the thought of it. But she again silenced him before he could speak.

"Your eyes just told me more than your words ever could. We both know how you feel about me. The only question is whether or not you'll ever admit to yourself what you want." She said as she brought a set of keys out of her pocket. "In the meantime I have to get going. I have to get ready to go out tonight. Such a shame you won't come with me, even if it wasn't a school night for you."

"It's a school night for you too," he reminded her. "At least if you're still posing as someone at our school."

An amused smile formed on her lips. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" she asked. "Good thing grades don't matter to me anymore. Otherwise I might feel bad about not paying attention in class."

Ron heard a small beep from across the street and saw a black Corvette Convertible's lights flash to indicate that its doors were unlocked.

"Just keep in mind what I said," she told him. "The Ron Factor may not matter to them, but I still believe in you."

She flashed a smile before walking to her waiting ride. Gone was the red Porsche that she had used earlier in the year. He wondered if there was a chance that the car would be at school tomorrow, and thus a way to positively identify her. He doubted that very much. Someone as manipulative and crafty as Camille would not be so stupid.

He watched her drive away before resuming his walk home. He had much to think about now. One thing that he had not told her was about the meeting between himself, Kim and Dr. Director on Friday. Dr. Director had offered Kim a job. She had not done the same for him. He had little doubt that what Camille said was true. Dr. Director and Global Justice had no respect for him. The Ron Factor, and thus he himself, was a non factor. Thinking back on the recent mission to Senior's lair, he remembered that it was because of him that Senior had gotten away. He had been the one to want to save the piranha. And he had been the one who couldn't find the correct button to hit to cover the water tank, and had instead turned the lights out on Kim.

Was he a liability? Would he do more good by being apart from Team Possible, but still being her friend? And just what exactly would that mean for himself and Camille? If they were together would she no longer hold any grudges against Kim? Could Kim ever possibly accept the two of them begin together? And despite his interest in the dynamic of a hero and villain being romantically involved, could he and Camille ever share such a bond?

More and more questions popped into his head as he neared his house. He had no idea how to answer any of them.


End file.
